"We will resolve such issues": Mallikarjun Kharge on speculation around Karnataka CM post

New Delhi [India], November 26 (ANI): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said the party high command, which includes him, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi, will “deliberate” and “resolve” the speculations around the Chief Ministerial post.

Kharge’s remarks come amid growing speculation about a change in the Chief Ministerial face of Karnataka, fueled by the "power-sharing agreement" of 2023 between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, which has been cited frequently in political circles.

Speaking with ANI about the speculations, Kharge downplayed the ‘internal conflict’ within the party and said, “Only the people there can say what the government is doing there. But I would like to say that we will resolve such issues. People in the High Command - Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and I will sit together and deliberate on this...We will give the mediation that is required."

Earlier, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah stated that he, along with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, will accept and act according to the decision of the Congress high command.

Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah said, "D.K. Shivakumar and I should abide by the decision of the party high command. Whatever the high command decides, D.K. Shivakumar and I should agree. We will act according to the decision of the party high command..."

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar responded to several media queries about the speculation with an ambiguous answer.

"I believe in conscience. We should work according to conscience. I don't want to embarrass the party or weaken the party," said DK Shivakumar. 

When asked if Mallikarjun Kharge had gone to Delhi and was going to discuss the handover of power with Rahul Gandhi, he said, "I don't know about this matter. This is a secret matter between five or six of us. I will not reveal it. The CM is a senior leader and an asset to our party. He has been CM for 7.5 years. He has said that he will present the next budget himself. Very happy. He has worked hard as the Leader of the Opposition. He has built the party. We should all focus on the goal of the 2028 and 2029 elections together."

Meanwhile, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has also implied that he remains in the race for the Chief Minister's post amid demands for a Dalit Chief Minister from Dalit organisations. 

"I have always been in the CM race. In 2013, I was the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). We brought the Congress government to power then. I have never said that I brought the government to power alone. Everyone worked together. People voted and made the party win. I was defeated at that time. I don't know what would have happened if I had won. They give the KPCC president a chance. That is not followed in some cases," Parameshwara said.

He clarified that no decisions are made in the party without the high command's go-ahead. (ANI)