NEW DELHI: Seeking to tamp down speculation over a leadership change in Karnataka, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday said there was no discussion on the chief ministerial post during his meetings with the Congress leadership at the All India Congress Committee.Addressing reporters in the national capital, Shivakumar said the party leadership would take decisions at an appropriate time and that the focus remained on the organisation’s broader vision and goals. “We are not discussing anything on this. The party has a vision and a goal. Party success is important. Senior leaders are there and they will take a call whenever they find it suitable in the interest of Karnataka and the country,” he said. Shivakumar also declined to disclose details of whom he met during the visit, asserting that internal political discussions were not meant for public airing. “I don’t think I need to disclose whom I met inside 10 Janpath. We are not ready to discuss politics on the streets. We met our high command and discussed what needed to be discussed,” he said, adding that the visit was “to discuss political things, not just to breathe air. “Speculation over a power-sharing arrangement in Karnataka has persisted since the Congress government crossed the halfway mark of its five-year term in November last year. The debate has been fuelled by statements from some party MLAs. Earlier this week, Congress MLA Iqbal Hussain claimed that 80–90 MLAs had conveyed their preference for Shivakumar to the high command, while urging party colleagues to maintain discipline and avoid public statements that could embarrass the leadership. Shivakumar, however, when asked about this in Delhi had said he had support of all 136 MLAs.Meanwhile, the opposition has seized on the internal churn. BJP leader and leader of ppposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashok said the recurring discussion over the chief minister’s post reflected a deeper struggle within the Congress. “For the last two years, the same questions keep coming up. We heard about a 50-50 government, 2.5 years have gone by and that date is also past. This is a fight between the old and the new Congress,” he said.
