NEW DELHI: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar are set to meet senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on December 14, amid the continuing leadership tussle over the state’s top post, sources said on Saturday.
The meeting is scheduled to take place immediately after the Congress’s mega rally at Ramlila Maidan, being organised as part of the party’s ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod’ campaign, which alleges collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission, people familiar with the matter said.
The development comes weeks after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the prevailing “confusion” in Karnataka would be resolved by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and himself, signalling possible high-level intervention in the matter. He had said that the deal to share the chief ministership was made in his presence and so his credibility will be lost if Shivakumar is not made the chief minister.
Meanwhile, fresh speculation has surfaced within the Karnataka Congress as talk of a leadership tussle refuses to die down, with a party MLA openly claiming that Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar will take over as chief minister after the ongoing winter session of the legislature in Belagavi. The remarks have reignited an already sensitive debate within the ruling party.
Ramanagara Congress MLA Iqbal Hussain on Friday made the assertion while speaking to reporters at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha. He said Shivakumar would replace Chief Minister Siddaramaiah once the current session concludes.
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