Karnataka CM Asserts He'll Continue

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday asserted that he would continue in office and present the remaining two state Budgets before to the polls. To this, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, a claimant for the CM’s chair said: “I wish him all the best. We will all work together.”

Shivakumar had earlier in the day put out a statement saying: “All 140 MLAs are my MLAs. Making a group is not in my blood.”

AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala issued a stern warning to party MLAs and leaders against making any public statements on the issue of leadership.

At least 15 MLAs and about a dozen MLCs have camped in New Delhi to push the party leadership to make Shivakumar the CM, Congress sources said.

According to reports, the demand is based on a purported power-sharing agreement reached in 2023, under which Siddaramaiah was to serve as the CM for two and a half years (till November 2025) before making way for Shivakumar.

Responding to a query on the MLAs in Delhi, the CM said the Congress high command had to decide on the leadership change, cabinet reshuffle or government restructuring.

“Has High Command spoken on it? We can't help it. Earlier also some people were discussing it, and now they might have gone (to Delhi). Finally, Shivakumar and I have to listen to whatever the high command says,” he added.

To a question whether he would present the next two state budgets, Siddaramaiah retorted, “Why are you asking this? Yes, I will continue. I will present the budgets in future also.”

“The CM has said he will complete five years. I wish him all the best. We will all work together.” Shivakumar also said he did not believe in factionalism as he is president of all the 140 MLAs in the state.

Regarding the MLAs camping in Delhi, Shivakumar said that it was quite natural for those aspiring to become ministers to visit the national capital and hold meetings with leaders there.

According to him, no one has called the MLAs, but they are voluntarily going.

Shivakumar also paid a surprise visit to the Bengaluru Central Jail where he met the jailed Congress MLAs Vinay Kulkarni and K.C. Veerendra alias Puppy and spoke to them for some time.

Kulkarni is in jail in connection with a murder case while Puppy is behind the bars in a money laundering case.

While those supporting Shivakumar are largely Vokkaligas, one of the dominant communities in Karnataka to which he belongs to, the 'AHINDA' MLAs too had a meeting on Thursday night, sources said.

AHINDA is a Kannada acronym for minorities, backward castes and Dalits.

Also, the public works minister Satish Jarkiholi on Thursday hosted a dinner where the ministers and MLAs met. Though Jarkiholi and home minister G. Parameshwara said it was just a regular meeting, Shivakumar said that their meeting was to have a new state Congress president and to have four to five deputy Chief Ministers.

“All the meetings have been going on for the past two-and-half years. There is nothing new. Let them conduct more meetings,” Shivakumar said.