BENGALURU: At a time when murmurs of leadership change have resurfaced once again after the recent bypolls to Bagalkot and Davanagere South, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is on a temple run.
After visiting the famous Shaneswaran Temple at Karaikal in Puducherry and Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Thiruchendur in Tamil Nadu on his 65th birthday last week, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, will visit Tirupati on Monday. It comes days before the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state completes three years in office on May 20.
Shivakumar, known for his statement that “an attempt may fail, but prayer never fails”, had also pinned his hopes on the Congress high command that it would ensure that he is made the CM according to the 2.5-year agreement brokered between him and Siddaramaiah by the Congress high command in 2023.
After attending the swearing-in of VD Satheesan as Kerala CM in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday morning, Shivakumar will fly to Tirupati in the evening. On Tuesday morning, he will offer prayers at the Tirumala temple. He will then fly back to Bengaluru and go to Tumakuru to take part in the official event marking the three years of the Karnataka government.
He will share the stage with the CM and his cabinet colleagues, where they are also expected to send out a message to their followers over the issue of the change in leadership or a cabinet reshuffle.
They will put up a united front in the event and are likely to leave for Delhi to meet the high command leaders soon, informed sources said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Youth Congress president Manjunath Gowda said that Shivakumar deserves to be the CM and he will acquire the top post when the time comes. Indirectly referring to the BJP, Gowda said that a political party has been trying to woo Shivakumar, but it will not succeed as the latter is a staunch Congress loyalist.
“DKS should become the CM, why not? He has that ability, and he will become the CM when the time comes, as we all have faith in God,” Gowda said.
