Amid Karnataka power tussle, Congress chief Kharge says ‘will discuss with Sonia, Rahul Gandhi’

The leadership question has resurfaced as the Congress government crossed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20. Talk of an alleged power-sharing agreement between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar from 2023 has fuelled weeks of speculation and heightened internal tensions.

Siddaramaiah, who has faced repeated queries on whether the party plans a change of guard, has maintained that the decision rests entirely with the high command. “Let them go. MLAs have freedom. Let’s see what opinion they give. Ultimately, the high command has to make the decision. We will abide by what the high command says,” said Siddaramaiah, reacting to the reports of legislators supportive of Shivakumar travelling to Delhi.

Karnataka Congress chief Shivakumar, at the same time, has refrained from making direct comments in public, insisting that the matter involves a “secret deal between 5-6 of us”.

Speaking in Kanakapura, he said he did not wish to comment further as it could embarrass the party. I have not asked to make me the CM. It is a secret deal between five and six of us. I don’t want to speak publicly on this. I believe in my conscience. We should work with our conscience. I don’t want to cause embarrassment to the party in any way and weaken it. If the party is there, we are there. If karyakartas are there, we are there,” he said.

When asked again about a power-sharing arrangement after the 2023 Assembly victory, he declined to elaborate, remarking, “Why should I speak about it? You (the media) have already written enough.”