NEW DELHI/BENGALURU : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has decided to meet MLAs, who support him, at Energy Minister KJ George’s residence in Bengaluru on Wednesday, sources said.
Tuesday saw a series of meetings attended by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal and AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were consulted separately at the party headquarters. Following the discussions, Rahul and Venugopal are said to have briefed senior leader Sonia Gandhi on the meetings, before holding a closed-door meeting with Siddaramaiah. There Rahul offered Siddaramaiah a larger role at the national level, asking him to step down as CM.
But as leaders emerged from the meeting, Venugopal dismissed the talks on change in leadership as mere speculation. “Whatever speculation you people (media) were doing was only speculation.There is no reality at all,” he said, stressing that the polls to Rajya Sabha and MLC seats were discussed. “Today, the entire discussion was concentrated only on the upcoming Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections of Karnataka,” he said, even as he was flanked by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
Venugopal said candidates for the Rajya Sabha and Council seats in Karnataka will be announced along with those for Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.“This is what we decided today, and nothing else was discussed,” he asserted.
Asked if there was any discussion on leadership change, Siddaramaiah replied with an emphatic “No”, adding, “It (leadership change) is only speculation.”
On a possible cabinet reshuffle, he said, “It did not come up for discussion.” Of the four Rajya Sabha seats getting vacant in Karnataka, Congress can win three and BJP one. Kharge’s Rajya Sabha seat is getting vacant in June, and he is likely to be re-elected from Karnataka.
The party may also field Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh as one of the Rajya Sabha candidates, as well as a woman or an OBC nominee. Besides, Congress leaders are also learnt to have discussed the party candidates for the Council seats. Congress is likely to secure four seats in the council from the seven vacancies, based on its present strength in the Assembly.
The Siddaramaiah camp was scheduled to board the special flight back to Bengaluru late on Tuesday evening.
IF NOT SHIVAKUMAR, WHO?
Sources close to the unfolding political events, said the party high command is likely to look at a complete makeover of the party in the state.
“The Congress high command could go in for a complete makeover of the party in the state and appoint a young, dynamic leader with a clean image, who would lead the party in the 2028 assembly elections. The name of Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda is on the top, besides Minister for
Large & Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development MB Patil. Both these leaders have a clean image and are known for their work and commitment to the party,” said sources, who did not wish to be named.
On AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge being considered for the post as parting gift to the veteran Congress loyalist, his age is a major concern given that the Assembly has only two years left.
“The name of Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara, too, has been put forth but giving him the top seat while denying Kharge - the tallest Dalit leader in the country - may not go well for Congress,” the sources added.