Congress high command has to put full stop on CM change confusion: Siddaramaiah
Reiterating that he would abide by the decision of the top management on the CM change, he said that the legislators were free to meet the party leadership and share their views.
The power tussle within the ruling party has intensified amid speculations about a change of chief minister in the state after the Congress government reached the halfway point of its five-year term on November 20 based on an alleged “power sharing” deal involving Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar in 2023.
Responding to a question about a team of legislators supporting Shivakumar going to Delhi, Siddaramaiah said, “Let them (legislators) go, MLAs have freedom. Let’s see what opinion they will give. Eventually the high command has to take the decision. We will abide by what the high command says.”
When asked about a section of legislators calling on the high command to put the issue aside, he said, “Whatever they (legislators) want to say, let them say it to the high command. After all, to put a complete end to this mess, the high command has to take the decision.”
A group of six Congress MPs supporting Sivakumar traveled to New Delhi on November 23 to meet leaders of the high command, party sources said on Monday, adding that a few more legislators are likely to travel soon to nominate Shivakumar as CM. Last week, some legislators supporting Shivakumar, about ten of them, went to Delhi and met Kharge. To a question about the cabinet reshuffle, the CM said, “When the high command says it will happen.”
He also said that he has no plans to meet senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for now.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar, who did not meet AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge while he was in the city for the last few days, but accompanied him to the airport as he left for the national capital on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Siddaramaiah held a meeting with Kharge at his residence in Bengaluru, which lasted over an hour, amid the ongoing leadership tussle in the party.
Party sources said that while Siddaramaiah was pushing for a change in the cabinet, Shivakumar wanted the party to decide on the leadership change first.
According to some party insiders, if the Congress high command approves the cabinet reshuffle, it will signal that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will complete his entire five-year term, thus eliminating Shivakumar’s chances of occupying the coveted post.
