DKS hints at secret power pact, CM lobs ball to Delhi | India News
DK Shivakumar and CM Siddaramaiah (File pic)
KANAKAPURA: Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar has stirred the political pot further by claiming there has indeed been “a confidential understanding on leadership transition among five-six leaders” soon after Congress won a landslide in the 2023 assembly elections. Shivakumar has for the first time made a direct reference to the power pact but stopped short of divulging more while speaking to reporters on Tuesday. “This is confidential. I don’t want to speak publicly on this,” he said. Around the same time chief minister Siddaramaiah, in Bengaluru, appealed to the party to “end the transition confusion” and clarified the final word must come from the central brass. He said he has no plan to meet Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in the near term. Karnataka CM issue should not be debated in public: KhargeKarnataka CM Siddaramaiah said legislators were free to convey their views. “Let them (legislators) go (to Delhi), MLAs have that freedom. Ultimately, the high command must decide. We will abide by what the high command says,” he said.Talk of a change in CM intensified after state govt completed half its term on Nov 20, reviving claims of a 2023 CM seat-sharing pact between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.In Koppal, six-time MLA and the CM’s economic advisor Basavaraj Rayareddy dismissed any power-sharing deal, asserting Siddaramaiah would complete a full five-year term. “If agreements are made between themselves, is it to be treated like a contract,” he asked.Later, Shivakumar travelled to Delhi with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. He is expected to meet Rahul Gandhi to discuss the crisis. Kharge had held a meeting with Siddaramaiah on Nov 23 but Shivakumar didn’t meet the Congress chief during his three-day visit to Bengaluru. Shivakumar said: “I had met him in Delhi last week. Is it appropriate to meet him so many times? I don’t want to trouble him.” Before leaving Bengaluru, Kharge said the issue of leadership change should not be debated publicly. Earlier in the day, Shivakumar described Siddaramaiah as a “veteran leader” and an “asset to the party”, citing his administrative experience and readiness to present the next budget. “We should all work together with the target of 2028 (assembly polls) and target 2029 (Lok Sabha polls),” he said.Reiterating that he did not want to embarrass the party, Shivakumar said: “If the party is there, we are there. If karyakartas are there, we are there.”
