Karnataka News | End Game In Siddaramaiah vs DK Shivakumar Battle? Congress' Big Meet Today

Congress leaders - including party boss Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi - will meet at the party's head office in Delhi this morning to potentially discuss an end to an increasingly embarrassing Karnataka leadership dispute. Squabbling in the southern state has seen Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, and their camps, sniping at each other over the top job since the 2023 election. The Congress has had to make two major interventions since - Randeep Singh Surjewala was sent down - but the dispute over an alleged power-sharing promise persists. And now it seems the party is trying to avoid another episode, particularly with an election due in 2028 and the BJP ready to pounce. But only one half of the dispute - Siddaramaiah – has been called to join the meeting. The chief minister brushed off talk on what this might mean, telling reporters, "I don't know the subject of the discussion… speculation will always be there." Shivakumar has not been invited, though sources have said a sit-down with the deputy chief minister is also on the cards, as is a meeting involving both squabbling leaders. In any case, this morning Siddaramaiah will likely meet Kharge and Gandhi.