Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday asserted that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is the undisputed leader of the Congress party in Karnataka and emphasised that there is no need for anyone to make statements "misusing" his name.
His statement came in response to a section of party leaders, who have been pitching for Siddaramaiah to complete his full term as Chief Minister, stating that his leadership is crucial for the party to retain power in the next election, amid speculations about a potential leadership change in Karnataka later this year.
Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress President, is a strong Chief Ministerial aspirant and has time and again made no secret of his ambition to become the CM. "Siddaramaiah is our Chief Minister, he is our leader, we want him for all the polls. We want him for zilla panchayat, taluk panchayat, assembly and parliament polls. He is our leader," Shivakumar said in response to a question on statements that Siddaramaiah was indispensable to the party if it wanted to retain power in the next election.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Congress party has made Siddaramaiah Chief Minister twice. There is no need for anyone to misuse his name every day. He is our leader, unquestioned leader of the Congress party. He is serving as Chief Minister for the second time and is doing a good job. I don't want him to become food for the media (speculations)." Asked about statements made by party leaders, Shivakumar said, "there is no confusion, Congress party is observing everything, every day." This is the second term for Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister from May 2023 after ruling Congress' Assembly polls victory. He had earlier served as the CM for five years from 2013-18.
A section of leaders and Ministers seen as Siddaramaiah’s camp, have been advocating for his continuation in the office, notwithstanding Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s warning last month to colleagues against issuing statements and to focus on governance.
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the top post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.
There were even reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.
