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Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress President, is a prominent contender for the chief minister’s role and has openly expressed his ambitions in the past
Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar with CM Siddaramaiah | File Image/PTI
Amid increasing speculation about internal discord within the Karnataka Congress, senior party leaders, including Veerappa Moily and Basavaraju Shivaganga, advocated for Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to be the state’s next Chief Minister.
While Moily expressed his hope to see Shivakumar assume the state’s top post, Shivaganga claimed that Karnataka Deputy CM would take over as Chief Minister by December.
“I am the one who secured the MLA ticket for DK Shivakumar for the first time. Today, he has become a successful leader in Karnataka. We all wish for him to become the Chief Minister soon,” said Moily, the former Karnataka Chief Minister.
Moily further stressed that Shivakumar’s rise to the top is certain, brushing off any opposition as irrelevant.
“He has provided strong leadership and prioritised strengthening the party. Some may criticise him for personal reasons, but that won’t change anything. Becoming Chief Minister is not something that needs to be granted to him; he has earned it,” Moily said.
Shivaganga’s ‘Write It Down’ Claim
Shivaganga voiced strong support, saying that Shivakumar would serve as CM for the next 7.5 years from December, as the party is expected to “win the next state elections as well.”
“Write it down, it will happen by December. I can also write and give it to you in blood if you want, that he (Shivakumar) will become CM by December. If he takes charge in December, he will run the administration, including the next five-year term too, so by and large, he will be CM for 7.5 years,” Shivaganga was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
There has been growing speculation within Karnataka’s political circles, especially in the ruling Congress, regarding a potential leadership change later this year under a “rotational chief minister” or “power-sharing” model.
Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress President, is a prominent contender for the chief minister’s role and has openly expressed his ambitions.
Recently, a controversy erupted when the Congress leader shared the dais with spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev, also known as ‘Sadhguru’ and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a Shivratri celebration on February 26.
The opposition BJP claimed that Shivakumar might quit Congress to form an alternative government with the help of their party.
However, Shivakumar dismissed all the speculations, saying that his decision to attend the event was purely religious and not political. He also slammed the BJP.
“Let BJP keep its house in order first. As some of my ministers have said, several BJP MLAs are trying to get in touch with us. So, already my minister has said it. I don’t want to discuss that. It (BJP) is a broken house. Congress is a united house,” he told news agency ANI.
- Location :
Karnataka, India, India
