Sources said senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi, are expected to meet again later this week to discuss the Karnataka leadership issue. They had already held one round of discussions last week.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar
New Delhi: After a brief hiatus, the leadership tussle in Karnataka resurfaced in the national capital on Monday, with the state’s Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar meeting Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Speaking to reporters, Shivakumar said, “I have to meet Mallikarjun Kharge and K.C. Venugopal. I have already met Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Today, Kharge and I are scheduled to go to Davanagere, but the flight is delayed due to bad weather.”
Sources said senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi, are expected to meet again later this week to discuss the Karnataka leadership issue. They had already held one round of discussions last week.
According to sources, Shivakumar has conveyed to the party high command that the promise of a rotational chief ministership should be implemented at the earliest.
However, the Congress is not ready to commit either way at this stage. At the recently held ‘Vote Chori’ rally in the national capital, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar appeared together and projected a united front.
Over the past few weeks, the Congress leadership has been working to contain internal differences in Karnataka. Party general secretary (organisation) Venugopal facilitated a meeting between the two leaders over breakfast, after which both publicly stated that they would abide by the high command’s decision. Despite this, sources said underlying differences between the two leaders persist.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
Next Story