On the last day of the Karnataka Assembly session in Belagavi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah strongly rejected claims of a “two-and-a-half year” power-sharing agreement, saying he would still remain the chief minister.
Responding to repeated questions and disruptions by the opposition regarding his tenure, Siddaramaiah clarified that there is no such arrangement and he will continue to be the chief minister until the party high command decides otherwise.
Siddaramaiah said, “First of all, the public’s blessings are necessary. Then the MLAs elect the leader in the party meeting, and then the high command takes the decision. That’s all I have said. Still, I am the chief minister, and I will remain the chief minister until any further decision is taken by the high command.”
Responding to these comments, BJP MLA and opposition MP from Karnataka Assembly R Ashok questioned, “You were elected by the assembly party for five years. What about two and a half years?”
Siddaramaiah replied categorically, “I did not say anything about two and a half years. There is no such agreement as two and a half years.”
On Tuesday, the Karnataka Chief Minister reiterated that he will complete his entire term. Karnataka Chief Minister said, “We will complete our full term and will come back to power in 2028. I will remain the Chief Minister until the high command says otherwise.”
For some days, there was speculation about whether DK Shivakumar would be appointed Chief Minister by the Congress High Command. The party later clarified the matter after the two leaders met for breakfast at each other’s residence and held a joint press conference to demonstrate party unity.
Earlier, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had dismissed the ongoing speculations about the nature of the dinner meeting organized by him.
Shivakumar said, “Who said that? There was no dinner meeting or anything like that. I had gone to the dinner to pay tribute to my former DCC president, he has contributed a lot to Karnataka, Belagavi. So I went with my friends to pay my respects to him. There is no politics in this.”
Meanwhile, BJP MLC Chalawadi Narayanaswamy alleged that the interests of the state have been ignored in the ongoing tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar.