Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar (Image credits: IANS)
NEW DELHI: After a party MLA voiced support for him as chief minister, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar on Thursday warned Congress leaders against making statements on a change of guard in the state.Calling such discussions unnecessary, Shivakumar said, “No need to discuss the CM post sharing. CM Siddaramaiah and I are working together. We are following the guidelines of the high command.”He added that he has instructed Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president GC Chandrashekar to act against those speaking on the issue. “We don’t need to react to what the BJP says. Let them say what they want to say. I have instructed our working president, GC Chandrashekar, to give notice to them. No one should say anything related to the CM post,” he said, as quoted by ANI.On Wednesday, Kunigal Congress MLA H D Ranganath said he hoped to see his “political guru” DK Shivakumar become chief minister one day. Calling him a “rising star” and a “pan-India leader,” Ranganath credited Shivakumar for the Congress’s 2023 Assembly victory.“He brought very good results in elections for the Congress party… I have not seen any other leader give that kind of commitment to the party… He has always stood with the Congress party,” Ranganath said.Soon after, chief minister Siddaramaiah reaffirmed his earlier stance. “I will be chief minister for full five-year term,” he said.Following last year’s Assembly victory, Siddaramaiah was chosen as chief minister after rounds of discussions with the party’s central leadership. At the time, reports suggested a rotational chief ministership arrangement with Shivakumar, though the Congress high command never confirmed it. In recent months, Siddaramaiah and senior leaders have said no such deal existed, with the chief minister asserting he would complete his five-year term.
