Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday asked MLAs not to make public statements and project him as the chief ministerial candidate for the 2023 assembly polls, even as there is a perceived split within the party on the issue with factions loyal to him and state unit president D K Shivakumar.
The Leader of Opposition in Karnataka state Assembly said: "Two more years are pending for the assembly elections in the state. At this point in time, it's not appropriate to make such statements. After the election, the High Command will decide on who should be the Chief Minister after collecting the opinions of the MLAs."
Siddaramaiah also said the decision of the High Command would be final.
The friction within Karnataka Congress became apparent after party MLA Jameer Ahmed Khan Ahmad recently stated that Siddaramaiah should become the "future Chief Minister of Karnataka."
Congress MLA Ramappa Timmapur had earlier remarked that DK Shivakumar has age on his side and can become Chief Minister later but Siddaramaiah must become the next Chief Minister.
Following the remarks, a social media page has also cropped up backing Shivakumar as a candidate for the Chief Minister post.
On Tuesday, Congress Disciplinary Committee in the state had issued a warning to party leaders Zameer Ahmad and Raghavendra Hitnal for making statements that favoured "a person instead of the party."
Ahmed and Hitnal were served the warning days after they had stated that they wanted Siddaramaiah to be the Chief Minister once again.
( With inputs from ANI )
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