Siddaramaiah meets Congress leaders in Delhi amid Karnataka CM change speculation

Ahead of his much-anticipated meeting with the Congress high command amid increasing speculation over a change of guard in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday (May 25) met Congress general secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala at party headquarters, Indira Bhavan in New Delhi.

Ministers, MLAs gather in Delhi

Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah held a breakfast meeting with state Ministers MB Patil, G Parameshwara, Bhyrati Suresh, Satish Jarakiholi, KJ George, HC Mahadevappa, MLC BK Hariprasad and Legal Advisor AS Ponnanna at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi.

Also Read: Siddaramaiah to visit Delhi as Karnataka CM buzz intensifies

Meanwhile, 17 MLAs have arrived at Karnataka Bhavan, and more are expected to reach Delhi later in the day. Along with Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivkumar, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party General Secretary KC Venugopal, Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala, and Congress leader Sachin Pilot, among other party leaders, have also arrived at Indira Bhavan for the meeting.

"Going to the first Karnataka Bhawan and will take part in the meeting," Shivakumar told reporters earlier in the day without divulging any further information.

Leaders stay tight-lipped on agenda

However, Karnataka Congress leaders kept tight-lipped about the agenda of the meeting. Asked by reporters, Karnataka Minister MB Patil said that only Rahul Gandhi is aware of it.

Also Read: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says Congress govt will complete full five-year term

"No one has any information about it. It could be about the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, MLC elections... There could be a cabinet reshuffle as well... Only Rahul Gandhi knows about it... When the CM and Deputy CM meet him, you will know about it," added Patil.

Describing himself as the "disciple of Siddaramaiah", Karnataka MLA C Puttarangashetty said that the matter of leadership change in the State rests on the party High Command.

"Whether it will happen or not is a matter at the high command level. Since the beginning, I have been a disciple of Siddaramaiah. Siddaramaiah is the CM now. No change. But we don't know yet; we have to see what happens in the future, that's all," he added.

Leadership decision may emerge soon

According to an ANI report, quoting Congress sources, the situation regarding the Karnataka Chief Minister’s post will be clearer within next two to three days. The report further stated that, including Rajya Sabha elections, Cabinet reshuffle, and MLC polls, are also likely to be finalised during the discussions.

Also Read: Karnataka power tussle: BJP leader calls Siddaramaiah ‘Sultan for 15 days’

Siddaramaiah had earlier said that he had been invited for the meeting by the party leadership but was unaware of the agenda to be discussed. "The high command called me, so I have come. I don't know the subject matter of the meeting. Venugopal ji invited me for the meeting, and I have come," Siddaramaiah told reporters upon his arrival in the national capital ahead of the discussions.

Speculation around Karnataka leadership persists

Speculation surrounding a possible leadership change in the Karnataka Congress has continued to surface since the State government crossed the halfway mark of its tenure last year. During the past one-and-a-half years, supporters of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar have on multiple occasions maintained that he would eventually assume the post of Chief Minister, although no such transition has taken place so far.