AMID intense speculations of a change of guard in the State in the next two days, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has sought time from Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot for an appointment on May 28, sources in the CMO said on Wednesday. Speculations are rife that Siddaramaiah would resign on Thursday paving way for his Deputy D K Shivakumar to become the next CM of Karnataka. “Yes, he has sought time to meet the Governor tomorrow,” a highly placed source close to the Chief Minister told PTI. According to sources in the Congress, Siddaramaiah may tender his resignation to Gehlot. The Congress brass including Rahul Gandhi and party President Mallikarjun Kharge held several hours of discussions with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, apart from meeting them separately, and is likely to take a call on a possible change of guard in the State after the Rajya Sabha polls, which are due next month. Sources said the Shivakumar camp has been pressing Siddaramaiah, 77, to quit the top post and a formula to accommodate him in the Central role has been offered to him, which he has not accepted. Siddaramaiah has also been offered a Rajya Sabha seat, they said.  At the core of the leadership tangle in the southern state is Shivakumar’s demand that he be elevated as CM in accordance with a ‘promise’ which his supporters claim was made to him during State Assembly elections in 2023.

 

The promise was that Siddaramaiah would rule for the first two-and-half years and then allow Shivakumar to take over the remaining term. Siddaramaiah to host breakfast for cabinet colleagues: Apparently asked to make way for his deputy D Shivakumar’s elevation in lines with a 2023 “rotational formula”, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is likely to host his cabinet colleagues for breakfast on Thursday. Keeping up the suspense, the 77 year-old veteran leader refused to comment on the raging speculations on Wednesday and said he would comment on the matter a day later. Home Minister G Parameshwara, whose name has been off-and-on popping up in the context of the CM race, on Wednesday remained tight-lipped about Siddaramaiah’s meeting with the Congress high command in Delhi, saying no one is aware what was discussed, even while downplaying the buzz around his possible elevation. He said everyone has to abide by the party’s decision. Shivakumar, who is in Delhi, was initially scheduled to return here on Wednesday afternoon. He has now revised his programme and will leave the national capital on Thursday. He also is likely to attend the breakfast meeting at the CM’s official residence here. Incidentally, the two leaders had hosted each other for breakfast late last year in an apparent effort at breaking the logjam over the leadership tussle.