Amid Karnataka Congress crisis, Shivakumar signals talks with party high command

Amid the leadership crisis in the Karnataka Congress party Deputy Chief Minister and the partys state President DK Shivakumar has said that he will be meeting the partys high command separately While answering a question on whether he will seek separate meetings with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi he stated on Monday in Delhi ldquoAll these things will be there within the partyrdquoWhen further asked whether this was important at this juncture Shivakumar replied ldquoDonrsquot worryrdquoHe further said ldquoI need to meet AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge AICC General Secretary and MP KC Venugopal and others I have already met Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi during lunch yesterday I have met everyonerdquoHe stated ldquoMallikarjun Kharge ji and I need to go together to Karnataka to attend the funeral of veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa We were supposed to leave Delhi by 8 am but due to cloud cover the travel has been postponedrdquoOn responding to the notice issued by the Delhi Police in the National Herald case Shivakumar said ldquoSince there is urgency funeral of Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa I have been asking them for time I am seeking time to appear before them after the session I will also release my reply to the media because they have not attached a copy of the FIR with the notice We have already given our response to the Enforcement Directorate I have not received the contents of the FIR and have only information through media reportsrdquoldquoI will seek a copy of the FIR and next week after the winter Assembly session I will come to Delhirdquo he addedIt can be recalled that the leadership tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar has come to the forefront after party MLA from Ramanagara Iqbal Hussain a staunch supporter of Shivakumar claimed that Shivakumar would assume the post of Chief Minister on January 6 2026The statement has caused ripples in state political circles and within the ruling Congress partyldquoThe post of Chief Minister should be handed over to Deputy CM Shivakumar He must be given an opportunity The high command is responding positively to this demand There are chances of Shivakumar becoming the Chief Minister on January 6 I am 99 per cent sure about thisrdquo Hussain had statedResponding to Hussainrsquos remarks Shivakumar said that no one should believe his words ldquoFirst legal action needs to be taken against him Iqbal Hussain has a habit of talking too much No one should believe himrdquo he saidHowever reacting to this Iqbal Hussain reiterated that he stood by his earlier statement He said Shivakumar is the State Congress president for all 140 legislatorsHe also indirectly targeted Chief Minister Siddaramaiahrsquos son Yathindra Siddaramaiah who had made a controversial statement claiming that the high command had turned down Shivakumarrsquos demand to become Chief Minister and that his father would continue as CM for the full fiveyear termChief Minister Siddaramaiah in damagecontrol mode has once again clarified that he will abide by the decision of the party high command Fingers are crossed over the turn of events in the ruling Congress partyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever