Not in hurry; party will decide: Shivakumar on leadership tussle in Karnataka

Bengaluru: In the midst of an intense power tussle with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar on Friday said he "does not want anything and is not in a hurry."

The Congress state president replied in the affirmative when asked if he would go to Delhi and meet the party high command, saying "Delhi is our temple."

"I don't want anything. I am not in a hurry. My party will take a decision," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function marking the golden jubilee of the Anganwadi programme, where he shared the stage with the CM.

He said he may travel to the national capital in view of the Parliament's winter session starting December 1. Political circles are abuzz over the Congress high command summoning the CM and his deputy to resolve the leadership tussle that has gained steam in the wake of the party government completing its half way mark recently.

On his visit to the national capital, he said, "I may go to Delhi."

"I have a lot of work there. The parliament session is approaching. I have to meet all Karnataka MPs because they need to take up some of our projects," he said.

Shivakumar noted that the Supreme Court had given justice to Karnataka in the Mekedatu balancing reservoir issue, and he plans to discuss the matter with the state's MPs.

He added that he and the chief minister are convening an all-party meeting to discuss a wide range of issues, including Mekedatu and the maize price crash.

Asked whether he would meet the party high command, Shivakumar said he would.

"Delhi is our temple. All of us have to go. Without Delhi, nothing can happen. Congress is a party with a long history, and it has always guided us," he said.

He added that the Congress leadership decides party policy, and that both he and the CM (Siddaramaiah) would go to Delhi whenever called.

Addressing questions about Vokkaliga seers being upset with recent political developments, he said, "I don’t want any community angle. My community is the Congress community. Of course, I may belong to one community, and they (Vokkaligas) may like me. That is different."

Shivakumar also sought to distance himself from caste politics, saying he belongs to the Congress community and has love for all communities in the state.

"My love is for all sections of society—backward classes, scheduled castes, minorities, and everyone. Even Vokkaligas are backward class people," he added.

The comments came after the Adi Chunchanagiri Math seer Nirmalanandanatha Swamy expressed support for Shivakumar, and the Karnataka Rajya Vokkaligara Sangha warned the Congress high command that it would protest if injustice was meted out to him vis-a-vis his elevation.

While the CM and deputy CM engaged in a war of words on social media on Thursday, they were seen sharing the stage at Friday’s function.

Shivakumar had insisted that "word power is world power," prompting a witty repartee from Siddaramaiah, who said, "a word is not power unless it betters the world for the people."

"The mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not a moment, but a responsibility that lasts five full years," the chief minister made it clear in a post on 'X'.

Shivakumar on Thursday wrote, "The biggest force in the world was to keep one’s word."

"Be a judge, president or anyone else, including myself, everyone has to walk the talk. Word power is world power," the deputy CM added.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the deputy CM.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar would become CM after 2.5 years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.