Shivakumar cancels Delhi visit
New Delhi/Bengaluru: The suspense over the new Karnataka chief minister intensified on Monday as state Congress president D.K. Shivakumar cancelled his visit to the national capital citing health issues after he and Siddaramaiah, both frontrunners for the top post, were called by the central leadership for discussions.
The three central observers, who interacted with party MLAs on their choice for the CM’s post after the Congress legislature party meeting on Sunday, briefed party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and submitted their report.
After the meeting, Randeep Surjewala, AICC in-charge for Karnataka, told reporters that the party will announce its decision by Tuesday evening.
“The observers have submitted the report to the Congress president. We will hold consultations with all senior state leaders, including Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, and after that a decision will be taken by the Congress president,” he said.
Former chief minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were called by the party high command for further discussion on government formation. Siddaramaiah arrived this afternoon in the national capital but Shivakumar cancelled his visit, hours after confirming he would be flying to Delhi, fuelling speculation that the factional fighting in Karnataka Congress had reared its head again.
Shivakumar cited health reasons for the change in his travel plans.
“I have some problem in the stomach. Doctor is coming in 10 minutes. It’s burning. It looks like some infection and I have a fever….. Please let me be free…,” he told reporters.
Late Monday night, Shivakumar’s brother and Congress MP D.K. Suresh met party president Kharge at the latter’s residence in Delhi and thereafter told reporters that the state party chief will be visiting Delhi on Tuesday.
“Yes, he will be coming tomorrow,” D.K. Suresh said in response to a question from reporters.
Amid various claims about the number of MLAs supporting him and Siddaramaiah for the CM’s post, Shivakumar said earlier on Monday that his strength is 135, as under his presidency in the state the party had won the seats.
The move by Shivakumar, seen by many as a “pressure tactic” to assert his claim on the top post, indicated that the leadership war in the southern state is far from over.
The three observers – Sushilkumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria – deputed by the Congress, returned to the national capital on Monday morning.
They along with AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka and general secretary organisation K.C. Venugopal met Kharge and held discussions on the views expressed by the MLAs, the sources said.
The deliberations in Delhi were preceded by intensive consultations, one-on-one interaction with MLAs and even a ‘secret ballot’ in Bengaluru during and after the meeting of the Congress legislature party.