- It's down to another breakfast meeting, it appears, to resolve the long-drawn Karnataka leadership tussle
- Siddaramaiah has invited DK Shivakumar, his Deputy, to come home for breakfast on Thursday
- In December, two breakfast meetings between them within four days failed to resolve the impasse
It's down to another breakfast meeting, it appears, to resolve the long-drawn Karnataka leadership tussle.
Siddaramaiah, the 77-year-old Chief Minister, has invited DK Shivakumar, his 64-year-old Deputy, to come home for breakfast on Thursday.
A revised tour programme of DK Shivakumar was promptly issued.
Shivakumar will take an early morning flight from Delhi and arrive in Bengaluru at 8:30 am. At 9 am, he is to meet Siddaramaiah for breakfast at his home, Kaveri.
The fare is simple: idly, vada, sambhar and chutney.
The fact that a breakfast meeting between the two top leaders of the same party has to be publicly announced does evoke curiosity.
In December, two breakfast meetings between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar within four days failed to resolve the impasse.
They both met because the High Command instructed them to talk to each other and send out a message of unity.
This will be their third public breakfast meeting. The significance of this is not lost on anyone.
Karnataka Congress in charge Randeep Surjewala is also travelling to Bengaluru, adding to the fast-paced developments.
"Yesterday, the high command leaders called the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister met them. But no one knows what was discussed inside. We have no information yet. State in charge Randeep Surjewala is coming to Bengaluru today. He will clear up all the confusion. We still don't know about the internal discussions. We only know what KC Venugopal said. That's all I have to say. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has also called a breakfast meeting tomorrow," state home minister G Parameshwara told reporters today.
Read | "Look Beyond Karnataka": Inside Track Of Rahul Gandhi-Siddaramaiah Meeting
There'a likelihood that post the breakfast meeting, once Siddaramaiah conveys his decision to his colleagues, an official announcement and resignation is expected to follow.
What Happened Over The Last Two Days
Late on Monday, the two leaders travelled to Delhi. But separately.
The next morning, Siddaramaiah had breakfast at Karnataka Bhavan. There were 10 more people at that breakfast table, but no DK Shivakumar, even though he, like Siddramaiah, had arrived the night before.
Siddaramaiah, with close aides, eating breakfast at Karnataka Bhavan in Delhi
A day of meetings followed.
Both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar held separate meetings with the top Congress leadership, and then with others.
At the end of nearly six hours of deliberations, the Congress went public.
It was made clear at the outset: no questions will be taken.
"The entire discussion was only concentrated on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Council elections of Karnataka. Whatever speculation you people are doing, that is only speculation, no reality at all," Congress MP KC Venugopal, flanked by Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, told the gathered reporters, pouring cold water on the buzz around the awaited leadership change.
The party appeared to signal that all was well.
But that was the projection, behind the scenes a lot was still happening.
A short while later, Congress sources indicated that the party high command backs DK Shivakumar as Chief Minister, while offering Siddaramaiah a Rajya Sabha seat.
This development ran counter to the Congress' public admission of no discussion around leadership change in the southern state.
Both the top Karnataka leaders, who said they were unaware about the Delhi meeting agenda, were quiet at the press meet. They just looked straight ahead, letting commentators and the gathered reporters make what they could of the body language.
Of the four Rajya Sabha seats getting vacant in Karnataka, the Congress can win three seats and the BJP one.
Mallikarjun Kharge's Rajya Sabha seat is getting vacant in June and he is likely to be re-elected from Karnataka.
The party may also field Shivakumar's brother DK Suresh as one of the Rajya Sabha candidates.
At the core of the leadership tangle in the southern state is Shivakumar's demand that he be elevated as the Chief Minister in accordance with a 'promise' which his supporters claim was made to him during state assembly elections in 2023.
The promise was that Siddaramaiah would rule for the first two-and-half years and then allow Shivakumar to take over the remaining term.
In January this year, Siddaramaiah made history by becoming the longest-serving Chief Minister of Karnataka, surpassing the previous record held by Congress stalwart D Devaraj Urs.
The buzz grew that possibly a change is now on the cards.
It was not to be. Siddaramaiah had the support of legislators.
A possible change in leadership was again put on hold until Kerala and Tamil Nadu elections.
With polls over in May, the buzz was back again.
The buzz again grew last week around Shivakumar's birthday when his supporters put up "Next CM" posters at Congress offices and also brought cakes with the same message.
Then came the Delhi meeting.
The Congress maintained it's "speculation" and appeared to move on.
Asked about a possible leadership change a week before, Shivakumar gave a cryptic "good time will come" reply.
That time, it appears, is just around the corner.
