DK Shivakumar
NEW DELHI: Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and his wife offered prayers at Mandya’s Bhoo Varaha Swamy temple on Saturday, just hours after a breakfast meeting with chief minister Siddaramaiah amid a power tussle between the two leaders.“When I was in Tihar Jail, my mother-in-law and father-in-law came to this temple four times,” Shivakumar told reporters, referring to his September 2019 arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case — which the Supreme Court eventually quashed in March 2024. The Congress leader, who also heads the party’s state unit, claimed that a “friend from another party” had been urging him to visit the temple for the past two years.Shivakumar added that the visit was scheduled only this morning.“When I came here, I felt a sense of glory. I asked the priest if I should bring anything, and he said it was enough to come for darshan. I don’t know if he performed a homa (sacred fire ritual) to secure a ‘high position’ for me. All the elders and deities are looking at me with love,” the deputy CM remarked.Earlier, after his breakfast meeting with Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar had described the leadership talks as “productive.” The chief minister had invited his deputy at the behest of the Congress high command.The power tussle between the two dates back to an alleged promise made to Shivakumar after the Congress’ sweeping victory over the BJP in the Karnataka assembly elections in May 2023. The party leadership had chosen the veteran Siddaramaiah as chief minister, appointed Shivakumar his deputy, and reportedly assured a transfer of power after 2.5 years for the remainder of the government’s five-year term.The Siddaramaiah camp — and the chief minister himself — has repeatedly maintained that he will complete his full tenure.
