Amid reports of a leadership tussle in the Karnataka Congress, former Congress national president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief D.K. Shivakumar.
However, the party downplayed the differences between the two leaders and said it would fight the 2023 Assembly elections with unity.
Party general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala told reporters at a press conference that those who would lead the party in the elections were seated on the dais, pointing to Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Shivakumar, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge, and working president Dhruvanarayan.
Mr. Surjewala said the day the Congress wins over 150 Assembly seats, the party’s legislators would decide who would lead the party. He said the Congress party would be projected and both Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar were “clear on that”. “The BJP is now caught in its own game of deception and defection in Karnataka. Their lies, untruths, corruption, malgovernance, and maladministration has now been exposed,” Mr. Sujewala said. “We are concerned about the people of Karnataka... In order to ensure that the party takes this up unitedly, Rahulji had long deliberations with Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar. Let me assure you that the Congress party is united and there is no difference of leadership.”
