10+ MLAs demand Karnataka CM post for Shivakumar; reach Delhi
What's the story
A group of over 10 Karnataka MLAs, loyal to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, have reached New Delhi. They are demanding the Congress party high command to honor a purported power-sharing agreement as the Siddaramaiah government completes 2.5 years in office. The legislators are expected to meet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary KC Venugopal to press their demands.
Leadership dispute
MLA names
Those who reached Delhi include Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy and MLAs Iqbal Hussain, HC Balakrishna and SR Srinivas. MLAs Ravi Ganiga, Gubbi Vasu, Dinesh Gooligowda and others had already reached Delhi on Tuesday to take up the issue with the party leadership. MLAs Anekal Shivanna, Nelamangala Srinivas, Kunigal Ranganath, Shivaganga Basavaraju and Balakrishna are expected to follow them on Friday, sources told India Today.
Source
Fight for CM post
After the assembly election results in May 2023, there was fierce competition for the position of chief minister between Siddaramaiah and his deputy, Shivakumar. In the end, the Congress convinced Shivakumar to settle for the deputy chief minister post. Some reports at the time said that a compromise had been made based on a "rotational chief minister formula," under which Shivakumar would become CM after two and a half years.
Agreement denial
Congress denies rotational agreement, Siddaramaiah stands firm
The Congress, however, has never confirmed such an agreement. Siddaramaiah has repeatedly said he will serve a full five-year term. He recently reiterated his position at a gathering in Chamarajanagar, saying his leadership "has been strong from the beginning and will continue to remain so." When asked about continuing as CM for five years, Siddaramaiah called it "an unnecessary debate."
Distance maintained
Shivakumar distances himself from MLAs's actions
Shivakumar has distanced himself from the actions of the MLAs, saying he was "not aware" and was "not keeping well." He expressed satisfaction over Siddaramaiah's assertion of serving a full term. "I am very glad about it Our party has given him the responsibility to work as chief minister. We all are working together," he said.