Surjewala To Clear Karnataka Leadership Confusion Tomorrow: Parameshwara

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said no one is aware of the discussions held during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s recent meeting with the Congress high command in Delhi, adding that AICC Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala’s visit to Bengaluru is expected to bring clarity amid ongoing speculation over the state leadership.

“Yesterday, the high command leaders called the CM. The CM met them. But no one knows what was discussed inside. We have no information yet. State incharge Randeep Surjewala is coming to Bengaluru today. He will clear up all the confusion tomorrow. We still don’t know about the internal discussions. We only know what KC Venugopal said. That’s all I have to say,” Parmeshwatra told reporters.

“CM Siddaramaiah has also called a breakfast meeting tomorrow. I will meet the CM this afternoon,” he added.

Parameshwara’s remarks come as Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to hold a key breakfast meeting with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at his official residence ‘Kaveri’ in Bengaluru on Thursday, a development being closely watched amid recurring discussions around leadership transition within the ruling Congress.

The meeting follows a high-level Congress leadership discussion held in New Delhi on Tuesday. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar were present at the meeting.

After the Delhi meeting, KC Venugopal dismissed reports of any leadership change, saying the discussions focused solely on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Karnataka Legislative Council polls.

“Today, we had a detailed meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP Rahul Gandhi. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, and I were part of the discussion. The entire discussion was concentrated only on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Council elections of Karnataka,” Venugopal had said.

He termed reports of a leadership reshuffle as “speculation” and said candidate announcements would be made alongside those for other states.

Speculation over the chief ministerial post in Karnataka has surfaced repeatedly since the Congress government completed two-and-a-half years in office. Supporters of DK Shivakumar have, at various points, publicly backed him for the top post, while some Congress workers have also rallied behind G Parameshwara, adding another layer to the internal political buzz.

Against this backdrop, the Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar meeting in Bengaluru is being viewed as politically significant, with party leaders and observers watching for any indication of the Congress leadership’s next move in Karnataka. (ANI)