Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday dismissed the speculation about the leadership change in Karnataka, saying there is no reality in it at all.
Speaking to reporters outside the Indira Bhawan in New Delhi, Venugopal said that the discussions held with Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar centred around the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.
“Today we had a detailed meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji and LoP Rahul Gandhi ji. Of course, CM Siddaramaiah ji, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar ji, General Secretary in charge of Karnataka and myself were part of the discussion. Today the entire discussion was only concentrated on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and council elections of Karnataka,” Venugopal said.
Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar accompanied the senior Congress leader during his briefing.
Venugopal categorically rejected the speculation about the CM change in Karnataka. “Whatever speculation you people are doing, that is only speculation. No reality at all.”
He further stated that candidates for Rajya Sabha and Council seats of Karnataka will be announced along with the other seats like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand.
“That’s all. This is what we have decided today, nothing else was discussed today,” he reiterated.
His remarks came after the Delhi visit of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar reignited the leadership change buzz.
Earlier in the day, reports suggested that Congress may move Siddaramaiah to the Rajya Sabha and appoint a neutral candidate as Karnataka CM, with the name of Mallikarjun Kharge being discussed as his likely successor.