Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to Meet DK Shivakumar Over Breakfast Amid Leadership Buzz

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to hold a crucial breakfast meeting with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at the Chief Minister's official residence 'Kaveri' in Bengaluru on Thursday morning, amid fresh buzz over a possible leadership change in the Karnataka Congress.

The meeting, scheduled for 9 am, has once again sparked political discussions within the state Congress unit, with speculation around the Chief Minister's post refusing to die down despite repeated clarifications from the party leadership.

The development comes just a day after top Congress leaders held a high-level meeting in New Delhi. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Congress in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar were part of the discussions.

However, after the meeting, KC Venugopal firmly denied reports of any leadership change in Karnataka and said the discussions were focused only on the upcoming Rajya Sabha and Karnataka Legislative Council elections.

"Today, we had a detailed meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP Rahul Gandhi. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, and I were part of the discussion. The entire discussion was concentrated only on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Council Elections of Karnataka," Venugopal said.

Calling the leadership change reports "speculation", he added that announcements regarding candidates for the Rajya Sabha and Council elections would be made along with those for other states.

Speculation over a possible power shift in Karnataka Congress has been making rounds ever since the Siddaramaiah-led government completed two-and-a-half years in office last year. Over the past several months, supporters of DK Shivakumar have openly backed him for the Chief Minister's post, intensifying the political chatter.

Adding another layer to the ongoing chatter, a section of Congress workers has also voiced support for senior leader G Parameshwara for the top post.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah is also scheduled to attend multiple programmes in Bengaluru on Wednesday to mark the 62nd death anniversary of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

As per the official schedule, the Chief Minister will first attend a remembrance programme at the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office at 10:30 am before participating in another tribute event near Vidhana Soudha at 11 am.

While no official press conference has been announced regarding Thursday's breakfast meeting, political circles in Karnataka are closely watching the development for any possible signals on internal coordination or future leadership plans within the Congress.