BENGALURU: “Whatever be the wishes of party MLAs, voters and media persons but I have to go by the decision of the party (central leaders),” said Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday in reply to a query on his elevation as Chief Minister.
When questioned whether power sharing will happen after the State Budget in March, Shivakumar said “Only time will answer.”
Congress MLC Yathindra, son of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday expressed confidence in his father completing full term in office and revealed the central party leadership has not entertained pressure on power sharing in Karnataka. Yathindra stated “the message from the central leaders is clear (no change in Chief Minister).”
Speculations of change in Chief Minister have been doing rounds in Karnataka political circles for several months but nothing substantial has happened so far. Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar claimed an unwritten power sharing agreement reached among selected Congress leaders when Congress party returned to power in May, 2023.
He stated as per the power sharing agreement, Siddaramaiah will serve as Chief Minister for the first two-and-half years before transferring power to him to complete the remaining term. But, Siddaramaiah ruled out having entered into such an agreement before he took oath in May, 2023.
Under pressure from supporters of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to make things clear on power sharing, central leaders directed Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to resolve the issue of power sharing through mutual discussions. However, the discussions between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar failed to arrive at an amicable solution and both the leaders left it to the central leaders to decide on power sharing.
As the issue of power sharing drags on, former Member of Parliament D.K. Suresh, younger brother of D.K. Shivakumar, in an oblique reference to power sharing, stated “There is a limit for patience too.”
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