New Delhi : Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said that he, along with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, will step in to address the ongoing political rumblings in the state. Speaking to reporters in the capital, Kharge said only those on the ground in Karnataka could fully assess the situation, but assured that the Congress High Command would intervene where necessary.
People in the High Command, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and me, will sit together and deliberate on this. We will give the mediation that is required,” he noted, signalling a central effort to ease tensions amid heavy speculation over the Chief Minister’s post. On Sunday, after his second meeting with Siddaramaiah in less than a week, Kharge replied to the ongoing speculation, saying, We discussed nothing important… Whatever decisions are to be taken will be done by the high command.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said he would abide by whatever decision the high command takes. He noted that the state cabinet meeting is scheduled for Thursday, followed by the Indira Gandhi Anganwadi programme the next day, after which he “may or may not” decide on flying to Delhi. The turmoil stems from an alleged 2.5-year power-sharing pact between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, which the latter’s camp claims has not been honoured.
That the Congress has now admitted to the power struggle – in one of only three states it rules outright, and which votes in two years’ time – underscores the extent of factionalism in its Karnataka unit, with a group of MLAs firmly backing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and another insisting DKS take over.
And this afternoon’s admission also represents a U-turn from last week, when party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala insisted, as he did in June, that all is well. He said on X he had spoken to both camps and all three had “agreed” that a ‘malicious’ campaign led by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is to blame for talk of a ‘leadership crisis’ in the state. But, in comments emphasising confusion in the Congress, DKS also referred to a “secret deal between five-six of us”. “I don’t want to speak publicly on this.I believe in my conscience.”
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