Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday reiterated that he will abide by the Congress high command's decision on the leadership change issue in the state.
The CM has been repeatedly stating for the last few days that he and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar will go by the high command's decision on the chief minister change.
"Will abide by whatever the high command decides," Siddaramaiah told reporters in response to a question on his son and Congress MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah's statement that there is no question of leadership change as of now, and that he believes that the former will continue as CM for five years.
Earlier in the day, Yathindra claimed that the Congress high command has said that there is no leadership change in the state.
"I have been saying this, which is not new. I feel that, as of now, there is nothing like leadership change. I hope that he (Siddaramaiah) will complete his five-year term," Yathindra told media at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi.
To a query that Siddaramaiah had been asked to travel to Delhi in January, Yathindra said the Congress high command calls the chief minister for various issues.
"He will go there and discuss. He will also talk about the prevailing situation in the state."
Yathindra also acknowledged the ongoing confusion over the leadership issue because 'the Deputy Chief Minister was asked about his chief ministerial ambitions. There are aspirants in all the political parties. The high command has said that they will not decide now'.
According to him, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) elects a candidate for a definite period. It is the CLP which decides who should be the chief minister.
"The Congress high command has made it clear that there is no leadership change as of now," he claimed.
Yathindra said the high command held a meeting recently where they addressed the matter of leadership.
During the meeting, they stated that they have not taken a call and postponed it.
"So, as of now, there is no talk on the change of leadership in Karnataka."
The power tussle within the ruling party had intensified amid speculation about a change in chief minister in the state, after the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20.
The speculation was fuelled by an alleged 'power-sharing' agreement involving Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar in 2023.
However, both CM and Deputy CM had recently held breakfast meetings at each others residences, on the instructions of the high command, which is seen as a move to pause the leadership tussle between the two and to signal Siddaramaiah's continuation as the CM for the time being, especially ahead of the Belagavi legislature session.
Reacting to a question on factionalism rising out of the row over leadership, state Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said, "Who said there is factionalism (in Congress)? We are all united, we attend meetings and discuss in the cabinet meetings together. There are no differences."
When reporters asked State Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi about the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's claim that the political peace is temporary and will end after the session, he said the saffron party has been making such claims for a long time and will repeat it for another three months.
"Here the CM, DCM and we (ministers) are there. The government is functioning well. Their statement has no meaning," the Minister said.
Congress MLC B K Hariprasad too rejected the existence of factionalism in Congress.
He also said he never discussed power sharing and state-related issues with the Congress high command.
"I have been visiting Delhi for the past 30 years. I go there not to see the Red Fort or the Parliament building. I am a politician who had been in charge of many states. I am in charge of Haryana. I go there for various reasons. I never discuss Karnataka-related issues.
In response to a question by reporters if he is in favour of Siddaramaiah, Hariprasad replied, "That's your perception. I'm happy with that."
On factionalism, the MLC said there is only one faction and it is the Congress.
"It is the faction of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi faction. There is no other faction," Hariprasad said.
Blaming the media for cooking up stories, he said, "There are some unemployed journalists. To keep them employed, such stories keep floating. No one in the Congress is jobless."
He added that Congress legislators recently visited Delhi to highlight problems related to the central government schemes to draw the Centre's attention.
On Satish Jarkiholi leading campaign for the backward classes, the MLC said Jarkiholi has been fighting for the weaker section and against superstition.
On Jarkiholi being the successor of the Chief Minister, Hariprasad said it is good because there is a need for a successor.