A minister and few MLAs loyal to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar headed to New Delhi on Thursday to meet the Congress top brass, indicating a power tussle in the ruling party, sources said.
The development came a day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah completed two-and-a-half years in office.
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the declaration of Assembly election results on May 20, 2023. The Congress had managed to convince the latter and make him the deputy chief minister.
There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become chief minister after two-and-a-half years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.
However, Siddaramaiah rejected these reports and asserted that he will be the chief minister for five years.
Some Shivakumar loyalists are said to have wanted their leader to occupy the chief minister's chair.
According to sources, Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy, MLAs Iqbal Hussain, H C Balakrishna and S R Srinivas have headed to Delhi on Thursday.
Twelve more MLAs are likely to reach Delhi on Friday, they said.
A few days ago, about a dozen MLCs had camped in the national capital and spoke to the Congress general secretaries, sources said.
Addressing a gathering in Chamarajanagar on Thursday, Siddaramaiah hinted that he would continue as the chief minister.
He emphasised that his position has been strong from the beginning and will continue to remain so in the future.
Reacting to the MLAs heading to Delhi, Shivakumar said he is not aware of it and that he is not keeping well.
When a reporter pointed out Siddaramaiah's assertion that he will remain chief minister for the full five-year term, he said, "I am very glad about it. No one has said no. No one questioned that he will not be the chief minister. Our party has given him responsibility to him to work as the chief minister. We all are working together." Regarding some Congress MLCs meeting him at his residence, the deputy chief minister said the meeting was about having the legislative council chairman and deputy chairman from the Congress.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar's brother and former MP D K Suresh said Siddaramaiah never backtracks from his promises.
When asked whether Siddaramaiah would keep his promise made to Shivakumar, Suresh said he has no clue about it.
"You should ask about big things only to big people. How can I answer such questions?" he asked reporters in Bengaluru.
Suresh said his brother had communicated to party seniors whatever was needed.
"The matter is now left to the party, its leadership, the AICC president and Rahul Gandhi to decide," he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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