Harish Upadhyay
Amidst speculations about change of leadership in Karnataka, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday made it clear that the high command will intervene in the matter. We will resolve this after a high level meeting with senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. In an exclusive conversation with StuffUnknown, Kharge said, only the people there can tell what the government is doing. But I want to say that we will resolve such issues. High command Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and I will sit and consider this… We will give necessary intervention.
The government is under threat in Karnataka for some days. MLAs supporting DK Shivkumar have paraded till Delhi. On the other hand, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is not ready to step down. It is being claimed that there was a power sharing agreement between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in 2023, in which Siddaramaiah was to step down after two and a half years. Now Shivkumar group is saying that the CM is going back on his promise. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that Kharge’s son and Karnataka minister Priyank had gone to Delhi for work. He said, Rahul Gandhi had called him, so he went.
What did Siddaramaiah say
On the question asked on Shivkumar supporting MLAs going to Delhi, Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday, let them go. MLAs have freedom. See what they say. Ultimately the decision will be taken by the high command. We will follow the decision of the high command. Whatever he has to say, he should say it to the high command. To end this confusion, the final decision will have to be taken by the high command. Priyank Kharge also said, as you said, there is speculation in the media. AICC President, KPCC President, Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister have all made it clear that whatever decisions are to be taken, they will be taken by the high command only. Kharge also denied that he had recently talked to Rahul Gandhi about change of leadership. He called it a media discussion.
Shivkumar’s meeting with Siddaramaiah’s close aide Satish Jarkiholi
Tuesday night D.K. Shivakumar met Satish Jarkiholi, who is being considered as a possible political successor to Siddaramaiah. Both went to an undisclosed location and the meeting continued till after midnight. Later in the day, Shivkumar said, the meeting with Jarkiholi was regarding the elections of 2028 and 2029 and the party organization. He is my cabinet colleague, what is the problem in meeting him? I cannot talk about any secret power-sharing agreement in front of the media. I don’t have any group. Sources close to him said that Jarkiholi was trying to resolve differences between himself and Shivkumar. The main topic of conversation was to prepare the party for post-Siddaramaiah politics, as Siddaramaiah is now looking towards the election holidays. However, sources said that Jarkiholi clearly told Shivakumar that he would continue to support Siddaramaiah and decisions should be taken by the high command.
‘Secret agreement’ between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar
On Tuesday, Shivkumar said that there was a secret agreement regarding power sharing between five-six of us in the party. He said, I never said that I should be made the Chief Minister. This is a secret agreement between us. I don’t want to tell it publicly. I trust my conscience. We should work with our conscience. I do not want to embarrass or weaken the party in any way. If there is a party, we are here. If there are workers, then we are there. Speaking to reporters at his home constituency in Kanakpura, he said, the Chief Minister is a property for the party. He has been the Chief Minister for seven and a half years. He has also been the leader of the opposition. He created the party and worked for it. We should work with the aim of 2028 assembly elections and 2029 Lok Sabha elections. When asked whether there was any power sharing agreement after the 2023 assembly elections, Shivakumar said, why should I speak about this? The media has written a lot.
