Karnataka: Deputy CM Shivakumar meets over 30 Congress MLAs as CM post speculation grows

Deputy CM D K Shivakumar met over 30 Congress legislators for a dinner in Belagavi amid ongoing speculation about a leadership tussle with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The gathering followed similar meetings a day earlier as the party navigates power sharing concerns

Belagavi (Karnataka): Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and over 30 Congress legislators, including some ministers, met for a dinner late on Thursday night, party sources said.

Ministers K H Muniyappa, Mankal Vaidya, Dr M C Sudhakar, MLAs N A Haris, Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, H C Balakrishna, Ganesh Hukkeri, Darshan Dhruvanarayana, Ashok Kumar Rai, K Y Nanjegowda were among those present in the meeting, the sources added.

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Expelled BJP MLAs ST Somashekhar and Shivaram Hebbar also attended the dinner, they said.

The dinner meeting came a day after CM Siddaramaiah, along with ministers and a few legislators considered close to him, met for a dinner hosted by former Belagavi North MLA Feroz Sait.

Though leaders term it a casual dinner meeting, speculation is rife as it had taken place amid a power tussle in the ruling party, over the CM post.

There were speculations about a change in chief minister when the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, as it was believed that there was a powersharing agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar after the grand old party won the Assembly election in 2023.

As the government crossed this crucial date, activities intensified in Congress, and both the CM and the Deputy CM met over breakfast at each other’s residences, on the instructions of the high command. This was seen as a move to pause the leadership tussle between the two and to signal Siddaramaiah’s continuation as the CM for the time being, especially ahead of the Belagavi legislature session.