'All the best': DKS after Siddaramaiah says he will complete 5 years

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday (November 21) wished Chief Minister Siddaramaiah "all the best" after he said that he would complete a five-year term in office.

Amid speculations about a rift between Congress leaders over the Chief Minister post, Shivakumar said he would obey the party high command. His response came following a meeting of a state minister and Congress MLAs with the Congress leadership in New Delhi.

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He said there was nothing wrong with MLAs going and meeting leaders in Delhi when the Cabinet reshuffle is on the cards.

'Will obey party high command'

Earlier on Thursday, Siddaramaiah said he would present Budgets in the future, indicating that he would be completing his five-year tenure as Chief Minister.

Reacting to the statement, Shivakumar said, "The CM has said he will complete five years. I wish him all the best. We will all work together."

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He further said, "The CM has spoken his mind. I will not comment on it. He has said that it’s between him and the party high command. He has said that he will obey whatever the party high command says. We will stick to whatever the party high command says."

'Rotational' CM

After defeating the BJP in the 2023 Assembly elections, Congress came to power. As there was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the Chief Minister post, party leadership reportedly intervened to convince Shivakumar and appoint him as the Deputy Chief Minister.

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There were reports at that time suggesting that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar would become CM after two-and-a-half years. However, the internal arrangement was not officially confirmed by the party.

Cabinet reshuffle

Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, said he did not believe in factionalism. "I don’t have any faction. I am not the leader of any faction. I am the president of the 140 (Congress) MLAs. To me, all the 140 MLAs are important. I am neither interested in taking any group with me nor do I want to form any group. I will not do that. Forming any group is not in my blood. All 140 are my MLAs," he told reporters.

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Shivakumar said since the Chief Minister had decided to carry out a Cabinet reshuffle, it was quite natural for the MLAs aspiring to become ministers to visit Delhi and hold meetings with leaders there. According to him, no one has called the MLAs, but they are voluntarily going. "All MLAs are eligible to go and meet their leaders, and no one can stop them", he added.

"They are showing their presence that they are at the forefront, and they can do the work, and they want responsibility. All our party members are eligible to become ministers and the chief minister," he added.

Congress MLAs' demands

On some leaders having a dinner meeting hosted by Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, the Deputy Chief Minister said he had no clue about it. However, he noted that those MLAs gathered at Jarkiholi’s residence wanted a new state Congress president and four to five Deputy Chief Ministers.

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"All the meetings have been going on for the past two-and-a-half years. There is nothing new. Let them conduct more meetings," Shivakumar said.