Karnataka CM Change Rumours Swirl as Shivakumar Hosts Key MLAs Over Late-Night Dinner

Amid the leadership change buzz, Karnataka deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar met with more than 30 Congress legislators, including several ministers, at a dinner on Thursday night, party sources said, reports PTI. Ministers K. H. Muniyappa, Mankal Vaidya and M. C. Sudhakar, along with MLAs N. A. Haris, Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, H. C. Balakrishna, Ganesh Hukkeri, Darshan Dhruvanarayana, Ashok Kumar Rai and K. Y. Nanjegowda, were among those who attended, according to the sources.Expelled BJP MLAs ST Somashekhar and Shivaram Hebbar were also present at the gathering, they said.The meeting came a day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah joined ministers and several of his close supporters for a dinner hosted by former Belagavi North MLA Feroz Sait.Although

party leaders described both dinners as informal, the timing has yet again led to speculation as the events took place amid an ongoing power struggle within the ruling Congress over the chief minister’s post.Talk of a leadership change resurfaced last month when the Congress government crossed the halfway point of its five-year term on November 20. The speculation stemmed from a widely discussed but unconfirmed power-sharing arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar following the party’s victory in the 2023 Assembly election.However, both CM and Deputy CM had recently held breakfast meetings at each others residences, on the instructions of the high command, which is seen as a move to pause the leadership tussle between the two and to signal Siddaramaiah's continuation as the CM for the time being, especially ahead of the Belagavi legislature session.Earlier, Karnataka CM reiterated that he will abide by the Congress high command's decision on the leadership change issue in the state.The CM has been repeatedly stating for the last few days that he and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar will go by the high command's decision on the chief minister change."Will abide by whatever the high command decides," Siddaramaiah told reporters in response to a question on his son and Congress MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah's statement that there is no question of leadership change as of now, and that he believes that the former will continue as CM for five years.Earlier in the day, Yathindra claimed that the Congress high command has said that there is no leadership change in the state."I have been saying this, which is not new. I feel that, as of now, there is nothing like leadership change. I hope that he (Siddaramaiah) will complete his five-year term," Yathindra told media at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here.