The day-long meeting of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC chief DK Shivakumar who have been locked in a battle to head the Karnataka government, has ended on damp squib, with senior party leaders saying that the matter had not been discussed.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar met senior party leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, Randeep Singh Surjewala in New Delhi on Tuesday, May 26. The meetings reportedly began in the morning.
Speaking to the media in the evening, Venugopal said that the leaders had only discussed the upcoming elections to the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Council.
“Whatever you people are speculating, that is only speculation, There is no reality to it. We only discussed Rajya Sabha seats and (Legislative) Council seats. Contestants will be announced along with those of other seats such as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. Nothing else was discussed,” Venugopal said.
These developments are being closely watched as the tussle between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar for the chief minister’s post is an open secret, with a handful of other senior leaders also vying for the post.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have from time to time made statements that have fueled speculation and prompted the central leadership’s intervention.
Last November, the two leaders met at Siddaramaiah’s official residence over breakfast in a show of unity ahead of the winter session of the legislature in Belagavi.
The Opposition BJP too has slammed the Congress for the power tussle.