Siddaramaiah shuts leadership change buzz

Bengaluru: Amid swirling speculation over a leadership change in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that he will remain in office for a full five-year term and lead Congress into 2028 polls. Firmly denying speculations, Siddaramaiah said that there was no truth in the reports that the Congress high command had asked him to step down or make way for Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

“I will be Chief Minister for five years,” he said. “I’ve already made it very clear. I made this statement on July 2 also. Shivakumar was also there on that day.” Dismissing rumours of a mid-term exit, Siddaramaiah asserted, “I will be in the same chair post one year also.” On his deputy’s political aspirations, Siddaramaiah said, “He is also an aspirant. There is nothing wrong with that. Shivakumar has himself said this that ‘kursi abhi khali nahi hai’.”

Rejecting claims of internal instructions or timelines decided by the high command for leadership rotation, Siddaramaiah said, “Two and a half years was never decided. It is not correct. What the high command told us is that whatever decision they take, we have to follow it. Mallikarjun Kharge has already said that ours is a high command party. Whatever they say, we have to follow. I will, and DK Shivakumar also will.”