Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar meet over breakfast; Karnataka power-sharing tussle in menu
The Shivakumar faction has been pitching for his elevation as CM, claiming that a "rotational chief minister formula" was agreed upon after the Congress win in 2023 state elections.
New Delhi: Amid an intense leadership tiff in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy Shivakumar met on Saturday over breakfast, a move being seen as an attempt to iron out the reported differences between the two senior leaders over the CM post.
Siddaramaiah invited Shivakumar for breakfast after the Congress leadership asked him to resolve the issue going around over a possible change of leadership. The party high command, which is seeking to put up a united face in Karnataka, one of the few states where the party is in power, also called Shivakumar on Friday and criticised the senior leaders for a literal war of "words".
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar quickly shared two pictures on social media as the duo sat for breakfast. In one of the pictures, the two leaders are seen enjoying upma, idli and kesari bath, sending out a loud and clear message that all is well between them.
"Had breakfast with Deputy Chief Minister DKShivakumar this morning and had a brief conversation," the CM's caption read.
Shivakumar, in his post, said he met the Chief Minister at Cauvery Residence for breakfast and that they had a "productive discussion" on Karnataka’s priorities and the road ahead.
Why is Karnataka Cong witnessing power tussle
The Shivakumar faction has been pitching for his elevation as CM, claiming that a "rotational chief minister formula" was agreed upon after the Congress win in 2023 state elections. Following the 2023 polls, reports claimed that Shivakumar would be made the CM after 2.5 years, but there was no official confirmation on this from the Congress leadership. However, the Siddaramaiah supporters rejected any such deal and said he should retain the post for the full five-year term.
Sidda, DKS' 'war of words'
On Thursday, Shivakumar wrote on X, "Keeping one's word is the greatest strength in the world! Word power is world power... The biggest force in the world was to keep one's word." His post was seen as an apparent reminder to the Congress high command about a rumoured power-sharing agreement.
Siddaramaiah also shared a post on X saying a "word is not power unless it betters the world for the people." "The mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not a moment, but a responsibility that lasts five full years," read his post, in an indirect dig at his deputy.
The two leaders, however, also maintained that they would abide by the Congress leadership's command and would go to Delhi if called. "Both of us have said that we will obey whatever the party high command says," Siddaramaiah said, on Friday.