Kharge-Suivakumar meet revives leadership buzz

Bengaluru, Dec 25 (UNI) It was a short, closed-door meeting, but it was enough to set political circles buzzing once again.Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s visit to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence on Thursday instantly revived talk of a leadership churn in the state, even as both leaders publicly maintained that there is no crisis and no confusion at the level of the party high command.The timing made the meeting impossible to ignore. The Congress government in Karnataka crossed the halfway mark of its five-year term last month, and speculation about a possible change at the top has only grown louder since then. To add to the suspense, Kharge had just days earlier remarked that the so-called leadership confusion exists only at the local level, not in Delhi.Was this meeting about power, or was it about policy?Sensing the heat, Shivakumar emerged quickly to shut down the narrative. Speaking to reporters soon after the interaction, he insisted that there was no discussion at all on the chief ministerial issue. According to him, the conversation revolved entirely around the Centre’s move to replace MGNREGA, and the Congress Working Committee meeting scheduled for Saturday.“There was no reason to raise any other issue, and I neither did nor will do so. Nothing of that sort exists at present. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and I have both made it clear that we will function in accordance with the high command’s decision, and we stand firmly committed to it,” he said, even as speculation continued outside.