Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has directed Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar to resolve their differences, prompting them to fall in line and meet over breakfast on Saturday.
A Congress source said Rahul’s message was conveyed to the two leaders, who have been at loggerheads over the top job, by state rural development minister Priyank Kharge late on Friday before they could leave for Delhi to meet the party high command.
Instead of giving in to pressure tactics, Rahul enquired about the progress on the caste survey and the SIR preparedness in Karnataka, besides reprimanding the state leadership for bungling the “vote chori” campaign.
Following the dressing down from Rahul, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar decided to put aside their differences and showcase a united front at a joint media briefing where they claimed there were “no differences” between them.
“Breakfast was very good. We want to put an end to the prevailing confusion. Our mission is clear. We wish to focus on the local body elections, followed by the 2028 Assembly elections. There is no difference between me and DKS, not now or earlier,”
Siddaramaiah said.
Taking a cue from Siddaramaiah, his deputy said if the Congress high command asked him to wait, he would wait, hinting at the purported power-sharing pact agreed to after the 2023 Assembly polls under which Shivakumar was told he would become the chief minister after 2.5 years.
“People have trust in the Congress. Both of us have full trust in our leadership. We will follow whatever the party high command says. Whatever the chief minister says, I agree with him. I’ve invited the chief minister to my home for lunch,” Shivakumar said.
The Congress source told The Telegraph that the meeting between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar hardly lasted for 10 minutes.
“Rahul had told Priyank Kharge that he was not aware of the power-sharing pact. Rahul was peeved by the fact that two senior Congress leaders were bent on splitting the party, giving ammunition to the BJP,” the source said.
The Opposition BJP and JDS questioned the “truce”, suggesting normalcy might not be possible after months of tension between the two Congress leaders.
The Congress leadership will discuss the Karnataka crisis at a meeting on Sunday evening to decide the strategy to be adopted by the party ahead of the winter session of Parliament, which starts on Monday.