Siddaramaiah meets Kharge on resolving impasse over Cabinet reshuffle, power sharing

After ruling out a change of leadership in the State government, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called on All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge at the latter’s residence in Bengaluru on Saturday and held talks on resolving the impasse over the much-talked-about power-sharing pact that was apparently arrived at during the formation of the government in May, 2023.

The Chief Minister arrived alone at the residence of Mr. Kharge to hold talks on the proposed State Cabinet reshuffle, believed to have been opposed by Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar.

Consulting ‘first family’

Though there was no clarity on the outcome of the talks, it is assumed that Mr. Kharge has promised the Chief Minister that a decision either on a Cabinet reshuffle or transfer of power to Mr. Shivakumar would be taken only after consultations with the Congress “first family” members and MPs, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyank Gandhi.

A few days ago in Delhi, Mr. Gandhi told the Chief Minister to discuss the issue related to the Cabinet reshuffle with Mr. Kharge.

As both leaders of the State appear to be not ready to give up their demands, the high command is facing a Catch-22 situation, and the party’s top brass is weighing the options before it, party sources said.

The contention between the two leaders is believed to have surfaced following Mr. Siddaramaiah’s move to seek the high command’s nod for the Cabinet reshuffle while Mr. Shivakumar sought the transfer of power to him as per the informal pact.

Mr. Siddaramaiah’s reiteration that he will continue to be the Chief Minister, and in return Mr. Shivakumar’s jibe at the former, “wishing him all the best”, has added fuel to the fire.

Before meeting Mr. Kharge, the Chief Minister reportedly huddled with loyal Ministers such as K.J. George, B.Z. Zameer Ahmed, Byrathi Suresh, Satish Jarkiholi, and Eshwar Khandre at his residence. Mr. Shivakumar is expected to meet Mr. Kharge on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, MLAs belonging to both factions had been demanding immediate intervention of the party high command to resolve the issue around the leadership. “We will abide by the party’s high command decision,” said Sharat Bachhe Gowda, MLA and chairman of KEONICS, soon after he landed at the Kempegowda International Airport from Delhi. Other MLAs backing the KPCC chief, who had gone to Delhi, also returned.

Tanvir Sait, KPCC working president, said the high command should have clarified its stand on the power-sharing earlier. Confusion on whether an agreement was reached or not has continued for the past 30 months and has reached a climax, he said, and hoped that the Central leaders would resolve differences in the next two days.

Seen together

In the midst of statements of leaders belonging to both factions, Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar shared a stage and spoke to each other at Matsya Mela organised by the Fisheries Department at the Veterinary College in the city on Saturday.

Meanwhile, several MLAs rushed to the Chief Minister’s residence earlier on Saturday and discussed political developments with Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Satish Jarkiholi.

Several MLAs, who have been nursing their ambition to become Ministers during the Cabinet reshuffle, have been keeping their fingers crossed and seeking early peaceful resolution to the impasse.