DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah to meet over breakfast as tug of war for CM post intensifies

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 29 (ANI): Amid a tug of war game in Karnataka for the Chief Minister's post, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar will hold a breakfast meeting today to resolve the ongoing power crisis within the party. After the meeting Shivakumar is expected to head to Delhi to meet the party High Command,
Amid the tussle, Siddaramaiah said there is no change in his stance. He invited Shivakumar for a breakfast meeting.
"The high command has called both of us, so I have invited him (DK Shivakumar) for breakfast, and we will talk there. As I said earlier, I will accept whatever the high command says; there is no change in my stand. Even he (DK Shivakumar) said that whatever the high command says we'll follow that..." Siddaramaiah said.
The Congress is likely to discuss the crisis with the central leaders after the party's strategy group meeting ahead of the winter session of Parliament on November 30.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday reiterated that the Congress high command will take any decision regarding the leadership.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar responded to questions about his supporters wanting to see him as the next CM."The party workers may be eager, but I am in no hurry. The party will take all the decisions," DK Shivakumar told reporters.He did not rule out a visit to the national capital, though he clarified that his trip would be to raise several key issues with the Congress leadership ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament.
Nanjavadutha Swamiji, a spiritual leader from the Vokkaliga community, visited Shivakumar's residence on Friday and the seer publicly backed him amid apparent tussle for the post of Chief Minister.
Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar have been exchanging cryptic posts on social media, with Siddaramaiah emphasising that "a word is not power unless it betters the world" and Shivakumar stating that "word power is world power."
Shivakumar is pushing for a leadership change, citing a "secret agreement" among senior leaders that he should take over as CM after 2.5 years.
The Deputy CM on Friday met with Congress MLAs and leaders from Malluru, Kolar, Mulbagal and Kunigal.
Between this, Janata Dal (Secular) Youth President Nikhil Kumaraswamy took a dig at the Congress and said, "Breakfast united, @INCKarnataka divided. In this regime, idlis get served... Karnataka doesn't. Governance? Not even listed on today's menu."
The high command, led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, is expected to make a decision soon. Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have expressed willingness to abide by the party's decision.
The tussle, fueled by the "power-sharing agreement" of 2023 between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, has pushed each side's loyalists to lobby for their leaders' claims to the state's top post. (ANI)