BENGALURU: With both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar camps making statements over the possible power transfer and a cabinet reshuffle in Karnataka, a clear picture is likely to evolve only after the results of the Bihar Assembly polls are declared on November 14.
Shivakumar may set the ball rolling, as he is likely to visit the Congress high command leaders in New Delhi on November 11, the day polling ends in Bihar. Siddaramaiah is expected to visit the national capital on November 15.
Shivakumar is expecting an audience with LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. During his last visit to Delhi, Siddaramaiah, without meeting Rahul, had asserted that he would continue as the CM.
Both the camps are expecting that the high command will clear the confusion over the change in leadership. It is to be seen whether the high command risks removing Siddaramaiah, albeit in an attempt to ensure a smooth transition of power, if the Congress and its alliance partner RJD win the Bihar polls.
But Siddaramaiah’s sympathisers, including his coterie of ministers and members of AHINDA communities, hope that the party high command will give its nod for the reshuffle of the cabinet that will ensure his continuation as the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, a few ministers who feel they might be dropped from the cabinet and a few others who are aspiring to be ministers have started thronging New Delhi.
But Shivakumar’s supporters dispute it and pin their hopes on the party high command that it will not give permission for the reshuffle but will go with the change in CM as per the agreement reportedly sealed when the party came to power in 2023. There is a buzz that the high command is likely to make a decisive move either on November 26 or 28.
Siddaramaiah’s statement in Mangaluru that he will continue as CM for the full term of five years if the party high command agrees has been interpreted otherwise by some of the MLAs who feel he would quit.
If Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi is given an opportunity to replace Shivakumar as KPCC chief, Siddaramaiah may consider passing the baton to a leader the high command chooses, said sources. But All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to play a pivotal role when it comes to the change in leadership in Karnataka, a congress leader remarked.
