Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Thursday, November 2, asserted that he would remain as the Chief Minister for the full five-year term. This statement by the CM comes amidst speculations that Siddaramaiah would make way for deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in the latter part of the Congress tenure. The party came to power in the state on May 20 following a landslide victory.
“For five years our [Congress] government will be there. I am the chief minister, and I will continue,” Siddaramaiah told reporters. He also added that “Operation Lotus” would not be successful in the state, he said that they won by securing 136 seats and they will run a stable government for five years. “BJP is in disillusionment. They can’t stay without power. As they have been once successful with ‘Operation Kamala’, they are trying to do it once again, but they will not succeed,” he said. “Operation Kamala” or “Operation Lotus” refers to the attempt of BJP to come to power by defection of legislators.
As per reports, a statement released by the Chief Minister’s office also quoted Siddaramaiah saying, "I am going to continue as chief minister for five years." The report also said that DK Shivakumar did not react to the CM's statement but only said that they would follow the order of the high command in the party.