Amid buzz over Karnataka CM change, Kharge says decision to be taken by party high command

Amid buzz over changing the Karnataka chief minister, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday said the decision will be taken by the party high command and no one should create unnecessary trouble.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said, “It is in the hands of the party high command. No one can say what is going on in the high command. It is left to the high command and they have the right to take further action, but no one should create problems unnecessarily.”

Advertisement

His remarks come amid renewed specualtion over a possibke change of the Karnataka’s chief minister.

When Siddaramaiah was chosen over D K Sivakumar to lead the state after the assembly elections, it was reported that the Congress has decided a rotational power sharing formula. That is, Siddaramaiah will serve as the chief minister for 2.5 years, after which the post will be handed over to Shivakumar.

In a bid to assuage Shivakumar, the Congress had also made a rare exception by allowing Shivakumar to hold two positions – the deputy CM and the party’s Karnataka unit president.

The buzz around a possible CM change gained traction after the Congress rushed its senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala, a close confidante of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, to Karnataka.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parmeshwara initially denied having any information about the purpose of Surjewala’s visit.

“I don’t know for what purpose Surjewala has been called. He might speak about party organisation. Zilla Panchayat and Taluk Panchayat elections are coming up, so he might discuss that. Sometimes the high command intervenes — that’s their job. It’s natural for the high command to speak when minor differences arise,” he told reporters.

However, the minister later clarified that Surjewala is the AICC in-charge for Karnataka and keeps visiting the state to guide us.

“He is our incharge of the AICC. He keeps visiting Karnataka to look into various aspects, not necessarily governmental issues. He visits to strengthen the party or when there are any disturbances within the party or the government. As an incharge, he will guide us…,” he said.

According to reports, the Congress is planning organisation changes in the party’s state unit, and Surjewala is likely to meet party MLAs in Bengaluru to discuss the same.