Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar held a crucial breakfast meeting on Saturday to address and dismiss persistent rumors of a leadership tussle between them, emphasizing their commitment to working together for the party’s future.
🛑 Dismissing Differences and Rumors
- CM’s Statement: Siddaramaiah stated he hosted the meeting to clear “unwanted confusion created by the media,” asserting, “We don’t have differences. Even today there are no differences, there won’t be any in future as well.”
- DC Shivakumar’s Response: Shivakumar echoed the sentiment, refuting reports of internal rifts and factionalism: “We will go together, take everyone along and abide by the party high command.”
- High Command Instruction: The meeting followed instructions from the Congress high command to resolve the standoff before the upcoming assembly session.
🎯 Focusing on 2028 and Future Strategy
Both leaders confirmed that the focus of their discussion was long-term political planning, specifically the 2028 Assembly Elections and forthcoming local body polls.
- 2028 Goal: “We decided that Congress must return to power in 2028,” Siddaramaiah said.
- No-Confidence Motion: Shivakumar noted they discussed strategies to counter a possible no-confidence motion by the Opposition BJP in the winter session.
❓ The Leadership Tussle: An Unresolved Issue
The meeting was held against the backdrop of speculation surrounding a “secret deal” wherein Siddaramaiah was allegedly supposed to relinquish the CM post to Shivakumar after two-and-a-half years.
- High Command Intervention: While the CM and Deputy CM were asked to find a solution, internal sources indicate no final decision was made on the CM post during the Saturday meeting, with “both parties stuck to the demands.”
- Opposition Reaction: Opposition leaders criticized the display of unity as a “truce” and a “drama.”
- BJP Leader R. Ashoka: Alleged the meeting was a “truce meeting between the commanders of two warring factions” and that the “show of unity is devoid of any genuine friendship.”
- JD(S) HD Kumaraswamy: Mocked the situation, saying, “We don’t know how many people would have turned mad after seeing their drama.”
🛡️ Strategy Against Opposition
Siddaramaiah strongly criticized the Opposition for spreading “misinformation, false allegations and rumours” and dismissed the threat of a no-confidence motion as a “failed attempt,” citing the Congress’s comfortable majority of 142 members against the Opposition’s combined 82.