Change of guard in Karnataka? All eyes on CM Siddaramaiah’s Delhi meet with Rahul Gandhi, Congress brass today

The top leadership of the Congress party will hold crucial talks with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the national capital today to resolve what is being called the leadership tussle in the state.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal, and Karnataka in-charge general secretary Randeep Surjewala will attend the meeting with Siddaramaiah at about 11 am at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, according to several media reports.

Siddaramaiah landed in Delhi on 25 May. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has also reached Delhi fueling speculation once again of an imminent change in guard in Karnatka government.

“I have been summoned to Delhi. I don’t know the subject of discussion. I have a meeting scheduled at 11 am (Tuesday). Speculation will always be there,” DK said on Monday night.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah told the media that the party high command had called him.

"I don't know the subject matter of the meeting. Venugopal ji invited me for the meeting, and I have come,” he said.

Karnataka Congress in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala has also linked the Delhi visit to organisational consultations over Rajya Sabha elections."Rajya Sabha elections have been notified. The party continues to have consultations. So please do not speculate. I quash all other speculations," Surjewala said.

The leadership crisis first surfaced prominently in November last year after the Congress government completed two-and-a-half years in office.

Followers of Shivakumar, who is also Congress State president, had reminded the high command of an alleged power-sharing arrangement made ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.

In January this year, Siddaramaiah created history by becoming Karnataka’s longest-serving Chief Minister, surpassing the record held by former Congress leader D Devaraj Urs.

Some reports suggest Siddaramaiah could be offered a national role, possibly by nominating him to the Rajya Sabha and shifting him to Delhi.

However, Siddaramaiah is learnt to have already conveyed to the high command that if asked to resign, he would recommend Home Minister G Parameshwara — a Dalit leader — as his successor.

Siddaramaiah, the only backward caste Chief Minister among the four Congress-ruled States, continues to enjoy the support of the majority of party legislators in Karnataka.

The party had earlier managed to defuse the crisis through multiple rounds of meetings and public displays of unity between the two leaders.

(With agency inputs)