Amid the leadership change buzz, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday dismissed talk of any “November Revolution”, saying the narrative was nothing but a creation of media.
Speaking to reporters in Chamarajanagar, Siddaramaiah said that he will complete his full five-year term as Chief Minister.
“This is an unnecessary debate. Only after it was said that the cabinet can be reshuffled after two and a half years, the issue of changing the Chief Minister has come to the fore,” he said.
The Karnataka CM said that any decision on Cabinet reshuffle will be taken by the party leadership.
“There are a total of 34 ministerial posts, out of which two posts are vacant. These vacant ministerial positions will be filled during the cabinet reshuffle,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further stated that his power is “secure” and that he will remain as Chief Minister for full five-year term.
He dismissed the so called “November Revolution”, saying it was a “media creation”.
Speculation of a leadership change in Karnataka resurfaced as Siddaramaiah completed 2.5 years in office.
After the Congress won the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar were hoepful of becoming the chief minister.
However, Siddaramaiah was made the chief minister with Shivakumar his deputy. Shivakumar was also allowed to continue as the Karnataka Congress president.
At the time, it was reported that Shivakumar was assured he will be made chief minister after 2.5 years under a rotational CM arrangement. But the Congress party never officially confirmed any such arrangement.
DK loyalists head to Delhi amid leadership change buzz
Meanwhile, Karnataka Congress leaders considered loyal to DK Shivakumar were reportedly headed to Delhi to hold talks with the party leadership.
Congress minister N Chaluvarayaswamy and MLAs Iqbal Hussain, H C Balakrishna and S R Srinivas have already left for national capital. The reports suggested that around 15 more Congress MLAs are also likely to join them on Friday.