Karnataka Bhavan located in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri is bustling with activity and talks. Both Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar have checked in at the state bhavan amid the buzz of a change of guard, which refuses to die down despite the party’s dismissal of it for now.
What gave further grist to the speculation mill was Shivakumar’s move to occupy the CM suite in the bhavan’s new annexe building following his arrival Tuesday.
Siddaramaiah, who landed in the national capital Wednesday, moved into the CM suite in the old bhavan building. He had stayed at the new annexe’s CM suite during his previous visit but had not liked its facilities and complained of its lack of ventilation before shifting to the old building, sources said.
Seeing the annexe suite empty after arriving there, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, moved in after taking the CM’s permission, sources said.
Significantly, both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar held separate press conferences Wednesday. Both went to meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the afternoon together, following which Siddaramaiah returned to Karnataka Bhavan and addressed the media. Shivakumar did not return to the bhavan with the CM, and instead visited Connaught Place to see a multi-level car parking there.
At his press briefing, Siddaramaiah spoke about his meeting with Rajnath. He also said that he will meet Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday if he gets an appointment. Congress sources said his meeting with Rahul is likely to take place on Thursday afternoon.
Shivakumar also went to meet with All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at her residence. A senior Congress leader said he might have called on Priyanka to put his case before her. “However, I doubt if anything will change in the state. Siddaramaiah is among the top OBC leaders the Congress has – perhaps the one with most appeal and mass support. Why will Congress change him?” asked the leader.
On his part, Shivakumar remained tight-lipped about the details of his meeting with Priyanka. “I visited the place,” he simply said, addressing the media at the state bhavan.
He even dismissed talks about a leadership change in the state, saying there are currently no plans to alter the Cabinet’s composition. “No Cabinet reshuffle is on the cards. The Chief Minister and I are meeting Union Ministers to discuss various state issues,” he said.
Shivakumar also spoke about the Congress’s plans to revamp the party organisation at the district level in the state.
The two top Karnataka Congress leaders have been caught in a power tussle in the wake of the party’s return to power after defeating the BJP in the May 2023 Assembly polls. Congress leaders from the Shivakumar camp had asserted even then that as part of a “rotational CM formula” he would replace Siddaramaiah as the CM once the latter completes two-and-a-half years of his tenure. The Congress leadership has however never confirmed such a deal.
With Siddaramaiah’s tenure nearing its halfway mark, the CM question recently reared its head again. In the past 10 days, multiple comments made by party ministers and legislators in the state stirred the high command into action, with AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, meeting all the party MLAs and MLCs in Bengaluru for the past several days. After Surjewala brushed aside the question of a change of guard, the talks in state party circles momentarily quietened.
Last week, Siddaramaiah also stressed that he would remain the CM for the entire tenure. Shivakumar also conceded he had no option but to stand by his senior colleague. Surjewala, too, dismissed reports that he was seeking the legislators’ views about a leadership change.
A state Congress leader told The Indian Express: “Everything will become clear on Thursday after the two leaders meet Rahul Gandhi. We are all waiting to see what happens.”
Not just the Congress leaders, but even the Karnataka Bhawan officials are on an “alert mode”. “Most of us are closely following what is happening. There is lot of discussion among us too – about what will happen in the state,” says a police officer stationed there.
Asked how their work has been impacted after the two top functionaries of the state government checked in, a bhavan employee said: “It has been hectic. Generally, there are a handful of people who visit the bhavan. But because the CM and Deputy CM are here, there is a rush of policemen, media persons, leaders and staff members.”