Amid intense speculation over a possible leadership change in Karnataka, the Congress on Tuesday dismissed reports of any discussion on replacing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, saying the party’s high-level meeting in Delhi focused solely on Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections.

Speaking after the nearly two-hour meeting at the party headquarters, senior Congress leader K. C. Venugopal said, “Today’s discussion was only around Rajya Sabha polls and MLC elections. Whatever you speculated is not true.”

“We had a meeting. CM, DCM and Randeep were present. The entire discussion concentrated on Rajya Sabha and MLC seats today. Stop speculation,” Venugopal added.

The meeting, convened by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at the party’s Indira Bhawan headquarters, was attended by Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, AICC Karnataka in-charge Randeep Surjewala and Venugopal.

The meeting drew significant attention amid continuing buzz around Karnataka’s power-sharing arrangement, with Shivakumar’s supporters repeatedly asserting that he was promised the chief minister’s post after the 2023 Assembly elections.

However, both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar avoided commenting on the leadership issue while leaving the meeting venue.

Party sources said the discussions primarily revolved around candidate selection for the upcoming Rajya Sabha and Karnataka Legislative Council elections.

Of the four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka falling vacant, the Congress is expected to win three, while the BJP is likely to secure one seat.

Sources said Kharge is likely to be renominated to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. The party is also considering the candidature of Shivakumar’s brother D K Suresh, along with a possible woman or OBC nominee.

Source: India Today