Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dk Shivakumar on Thursday met Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi.
The meeting was long-awaited and comes in the wake of a power tussle between Shivakumar and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
“Met AICC President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge avaru today to extend New Year greetings and good wishes,” Shivakumar posted on X and also shared photograph of the meeting.
It comes days after Shivakumar said that the Congress high command has spoken to both him and his boss Siddaramaiah and assured them that they will called to Delhi at an appropriate time to address the issue.
Last month, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah exchanged veiled jibes at each other in public, prompting Kharge to intervene.
The Congress President later admitted that there is some “confusion” at the state level and said that the issue will be resolved soon.
Kharge had also said that the Congres central leadership, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, will discuss the issue with both the leaders before taking a final call.
‘Both will go to Delhi at appropriate time,’ says Shivakumar amid leadership tussle
Why is there a power tussle between DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah?
At the centre of this tussle is a perceived power-sharing arrangement said to have been reached between in 2023 after the Congress registered a landslide victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections.
As per the purported formula, Siddaramaiah will serve as the Chief Minister of Karnataka for the first 2.5 years and Shivakumar will take over for the remaining term.
Neither the two leaders nor the Congress party ever made any such agreement official. But with Siddaramaiah now having completed his 2.5 years in the office, the Shivakumar camp is reportedly putting pressure on the high command to honour the alleged agreement.
However, Siddaramaiah, on his part, has consistently maintained that he will complete his full five-year term.