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Siddaramaiah said Congress high command will decide on Karnataka leadership amid speculation of his replacement, as MLAs loyal to Shivakumar met Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi.
Several Karnataka MLAs loyal to Deputy CM Shivakumar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge last week in Delhi (Photo: PTI file)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that the Congress high command has to take a decision to put an end to speculations around the change in leadership in the state.
His remarks come as speculation that he might be replaced as the chief minister has not died down, even as Karnataka Congress in-charge Randeep Surjewala dismissed the buzz last week.
Several Karnataka MLAs loyal to Deputy CM Shivakumar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge last week in Delhi, leading to buzz around the change of guard in the state as the Siddaramaiah government completed two and a half years in office.
Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have said that the Congress high command will take the call on the leadership change, and they have to abide by the decision.
Siddaramaiah has downplayed speculation about the leadership change, terming it an “unnecessary debate” and attributing it to recent discussions about a cabinet reshuffle.
The Chief Minister clarified that the senior party leadership would make the final decisions regarding the reshuffle, as two of the total 34 ministerial posts in Karnataka are currently vacant and need to be filled.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Minister Shivanand Patil said that there are many people in the race for Chief Minister. “What’s wrong with aspiring for the post?” he asked.
Home Minister G Parameshwara also threw his hat in the ring for the CM post, saying he has “always been in the race” to become Chief Minister and would consider the role if the opportunity arises.
“I have always been part of the CM race. If the opportunity comes, I will talk about it,”
Last week, Surjewala said that he held a discussion with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar and they agreed that a “decisively defeated and faction-ridden Karnataka BJP are designedly running a maligning campaign against Karnataka and its Congress Government”.
He also blamed Congress leaders for making “needless” remarks on leadership change and warned them from commenting on the issue.
While the infighting in the Congress continues, Karnataka BJP President B. Y. Vijayendra said his party is least bothered.
“BJP has nothing to say on the internal fighting or rift that is going on between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar. As a responsible opposition party, our only demand is that being a Chief Minister, he should address the problems the farmers are facing… We really don’t know whether Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is going to continue or someone else will occupy the seat. We are least bothered,” he said.
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
November 25, 2025, 13:46 IST
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