Ahead of the crucial All India Congress Committee (AICC) session in Gujarat, Karnataka Congress MLA Basavaraju Shivaganga — a key leader from the DK Shivakumar camp — on Tuesday said the state will get a new chief minister before December.

Speaking to a news agency, the Congress leader said, “Anyone can become the chief minister when the chair is vacant. I have already said once that before December, it (CM) will change.”

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On the speculation surrounding Satish Jarkiholi’s name for the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president post, Shivaganga said while anyone can be appointed, the position is not vacant at the moment.

“The KPCC president post is not vacant now. When it is, we can talk about it… When names come forward, anyone can become president — it could be Satish Jarkiholi, me, or others. But at present, the KPCC president post is not vacant,” he said.

His comments come as the Congress holds a landmark AICC session in Gujarat, where leaders from all state units have gathered to discuss the party’s future roadmap.

The development also come days after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy Shivakumar met the Congress high command in New Delhi. Shivakumar currently holds two key posts — deputy chief minister and KPCC president — and this goes against the party’s “one person, one post” principle. Some leaders from the Siddaramaiah camp have been pushing for him to relinquish the party chief’s post.

However, according to reports, the Congress high command has given its nod to Shivakumar to continue as the party’s state unit chief at least until November–December this year.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were the two main contenders for the CM post in 2023 when the Congress won the Karnataka Assembly elections. The party eventually appointed Siddaramaiah as the chief minister under a reported 50:50 formula, with Shivakumar reportedly promised the top post after two-and-a-half years.

To placate Shivakumar and his supporters, the party exempted him from the “one person, one post” rule and allowed him to continue as the KPCC president.