Bengaluru: Amid a renewed power tussle in Karnataka, chief minister Siddaramaiah met deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar over breakfast on Tuesday. This comes at a time when state home minister G Parameshwara – who pitched himself as a contender for the top post earlier – urged leaders to work toward a “peaceful settlement” on who will be the CM for the remaining term of the Congress government in the state.
Siddaramaiah reached Shivakumar’s residence on Tuesday morning, where he was received by the deputy CM and his brother, former MP D K Suresh. The two leaders had last met over breakfast at the CM’s residence on Saturday.
Parameshwara acknowledged the political churn within the party and said: “It’s a good thing that our leaders are getting together again for breakfast. All we want is a peaceful settlement of whatever has happened over the month or so.”
“As suggested by the high command, they are meeting for the second time. All the issues are settled. It is just reciprocal, nothing else,” he told ANI.
In November, the home minister had said that he remains a contender for the chief minister’s post.
“I will always be in the race for CM,” The Times of India had quoted him as saying on November 24.
“In 2013 I was KPCC president and we brought Congress to the helm. However, I lost the election that year. Had I won, we do not know what would have happened,” Parameshwara had said.
On Tuesday, he said that the breakfast meeting reflected normal political processes within the party.
“Siddaramaiah had called Shivakumar, and now Shivakumar has called Siddaramaiah. It’s a nice development. We normally have a CLP meeting, followed by dinner together. Everything is going smoothly. Different people have different aspirations. I don’t think it is wrong. Naturally, they express their aspirations when the time comes,” he said.
Saturday’s breakfast meeting had featured idli-sambar and upma. It was seen as yet another attempt to ease tensions arising from internal demands for a change in leadership.
Shivakumar’s supporters have been pushing for him to be made chief minister for the remaining 2.5 years of the Congress government, citing the alleged 2023 “power-sharing agreement.”
After the Saturday meeting, Shivakumar wrote on X: “Met Hon’ble CM Siddaramaiah Avaru at Cauvery Residence this morning for a breakfast meeting. A productive discussion on Karnataka’s priorities and the road ahead.”
Siddaramaiah, on his part, maintained that his position remained unchanged. Both leaders reiterated their commitment to party unity and said they would abide by whatever decision the Congress high command takes while working to resolve any “confusion.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had said on Thursday that he will convene a meeting to address the leadership issue and end the “unnecessary” confusion.
“After going to Delhi, I will call three four important leaders and discuss. After the discussion, we will decide how to move forward and put an end to the confusion,” he had said.
