Leadership change in Karnataka: Congress high command in no mood to take a call?

Despite repeated efforts by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to persuade the Congress high command to implement the reported “power-sharing formula”, said to be agreed upon when the government was formed in May, 2023, the party leadership appears to be in no mood to take a decision for the time being.

Mr. Shivakumar, who has been aspiring to become the Chief Minister after completion of the halfway mark of the government, has been meeting key members of the party’s central leadership and close associates of the Sonia Gandhi family, seeking to impress upon them the need to honour the “pact” reached in the presence of senior leaders at the time of government formation.

Divided views

While Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, MPs, are believed to be sympathetic to Mr. Shivakumar, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has reportedly refrained from taking a call on the matter. With Assembly elections approaching in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Assam, the party is said to be wary of any move that could trigger instability in Karnataka. Party sources indicate that displacing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah – a prominent OBC leader – could pose political challenges.

Mr. Shivakumar, who was on a three-day visit to New Delhi, met members of the Gandhi family on Thursday and is understood to have discussed political developments in Karnataka. However, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president declined to divulge details of the discussions.

“We are not here to discuss politics on the streets. We met our high command and discussed what needed to be discussed,” he told reporters in Delhi. He said that he had, of course, come to the national capital “to discuss political matters, not just to breathe the Delhi air.”

Assam, Delhi too

Mr. Shivakumar further confirmed that he had met Mr. Rahul Gandhi and Ms. Priyanka Gandhi, besides AICC chief Mallikarjuna Kharge, AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, and Karnataka in charge Randeep Singh Surjewala. “When politicians meet, won’t politics be discussed? I discussed Karnataka along with Assam and Delhi,” he said.

Maintaining that “success comes with effort”, he said, “We have not discussed that issue (power-sharing). The party has its own goals. Our leaders will take a suitable decision, keeping in mind the interests of the party, the State, and the country. The media is giving it a different colour,” he said.

When told that he had shown considerable patience, Mr. Shivakumar responded, “Patience always pays.”

Referring to a statement by the Chief Minister’s son Yathindra Siddaramaiah dismissing the possibility of a leadership change, Mr. Shivakumar sarcastically said, “We have to accept what he says. He is our high command.”

Endless speculation

Speculation over a power-sharing arrangement has persisted since the Congress government crossed the halfway mark in November last year. The debate has been further fuelled by statements from party legislators loyal to both leaders.

Congress MLA Iqbal Hussain recently claimed that Mr. Shivakumar enjoys the support of 80–90 MLAs and that their preference has been conveyed to the high command. He also urged Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan to exercise restraint after the latter stated that Mr. Siddaramaiah would continue as Chief Minister for the full five-year term.

Meanwhile, Mr. Siddaramaiah too maintained that he would obey the party high command’s decision and snapped at the media personnel on repeated questions on the matter on Wednesday.