Bengaluru, June 30 Amid a growing buzz in Karnataka political circles over a possible leadership change, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said that such decisions lie with the high command only and also warned detractors against creating ‘unnecessary complications’.
The Congress President made these remarks while responding to the Press, over claims that a change in the Chief Minister’s post could be done by the end of this year.
Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala’s visit to the state, a day ago, has fuelled this speculation of change of leadership at the helm in Karnataka government.
“It is in the hands of the high command. Nobody can say here what is going on in the high command, no one should create problems unnecessarily,” Kharge told the reporters in Bengaluru.
Kharge’s remarks on the likely change of Chief Minister, as anticipated in the Karnataka Congress for quite some time, gave the BJP a chance to launch a diatribe.
Taking a swipe at the Congress President, BJP MP Tejashwi Surya wrote on X, “The Congress High Command is like a ghost. It is unseen, unheard, but always felt. Even the Congress President, who people thought is the high command, whispers its name and says it’s not him. So eerie!”
Notably, the party’s Karnataka unit has been beset by factionalism and infighting since the time Congress assumed power in the state. Two factions rallying support behind their respective leaders – Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar often vied for the top post. The two factions have remained at odds with each other, despite Siddaramaiah being firmly seated at the helm since 2023.
However, the ‘high-command' has remained the party’s go-to line, whenever, confrontation arose between different factions, over sharing of power between the two stalwarts.
In February this year, when talks arose about leadership change, the ‘party high command will decide’ pitch settled the dispute.
Again, in April, Congress MLA Basavaraju Shivaganga, a Shivakumar loyalist demanded Siddaramaiah’s ouster. That time also, the ‘high command’ pitch saved the situation.
Notably, when the Congress formed a government in Karnataka after removing the BJP from power, Siddaramaiah took over as the Chief Minister while Shivakumar settled as his deputy. The agreement was reported to be a rotational arrangement under which both leaders would hold the top post for 2.5 years each, however, this was or has never been confirmed or denied by the party, till date.
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