Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar (R)

New Delhi: Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah On Wednesday, he reacted in a measured tone to the growing discussion over the possible change of leadership in the state Congress government and the ongoing power struggle with his deputy. DK Shivakumar.Responding to questions on the speculation, Siddaramaiah said, “I will speak about it tomorrow,” news agencies quoted him as saying.The leadership debate within the Karnataka Congress has been going on for months, with repeated speculations over a possible power-sharing arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. According to sources quoted by PTI on Tuesday, the Congress leadership has offered Siddaramaiah a bigger national role and a Rajya Sabha seat, paving the way for DK Shivakumar to take over as chief minister for the remaining term.However, Siddaramaiah has not yet accepted the offer, the report said.Meanwhile, the Karnataka Home Minister also said that no one is aware of the discussions held during CM Siddaramaiah’s recent meeting with the Congress high command in Delhi, adding that AICC Karnataka in-charge Randeep Surjewala’s visit to Bengaluru is expected to bring clarity amid the ongoing speculations.The Congress leadership reportedly held day-long discussions with the two Karnataka leaders in an attempt to resolve the long-running tussle over the chief ministerial post. Despite speculation, the party officially denied that any discussion on leadership change took place during the meeting.Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah was seen paying floral tributes to the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his death anniversary.

BJP targets Congress over Karnataka power struggle

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader Basavaraj S Bommai attacked the Congress over the alleged leadership crisis in the state. Referring to the possible removal of Siddaramaiah, he said, ‘Whenever a Chief Minister is removed, it has an impact. If any OBC leader is removed then OBC people will be unhappy. This will create a lot of problems for Congress in the 2028 assembly elections.He also criticized the administration of the Congress government and questioned whether a change of leadership would improve governance. “The administration in Karnataka has collapsed. No development work is being done. People are suffering. I don’t think DK Shivakumar has any magic wand to change this.” The decline that started during Siddaramaiah’s time will continue with Shivakumar also. By the end of his tenure the government will be in disrepair and the condition of the state will deteriorate.““We have been raising this issue, but there are a lot of power-hungry people in the Congress who do not care about what the opposition or the people say. That is why they (Congress) will have to pay the price in the next elections.”The Congress leadership has intervened several times since the formation of the Karnataka government in 2023 to manage the tension between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar. Shivakumar’s supporters have repeatedly claimed that a rotational chief ministerial arrangement was agreed upon at the time of government formation, although the Congress high command has never publicly confirmed such a formula.