Pro-Shivakumar slogans greet KC Venugopal in Mangaluru amid power tussle in Karnataka
Mangaluru (PTI): The unease within the Karnataka Congress over the alleged power-sharing pact between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar came to the fore when AICC general secretary K C Venugopal was greeted with pro-Shivakumar slogans at the city airport on Wednesday.
Venugopal arrived in Mangaluru to attend the centenary commemoration of the historic Narayana Guru-Mahatma Gandhi dialogue, an event organised by Mangaluru University and attended by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, cabinet ministers and senior Congress leaders.
A group of party workers raised slogans expressing support for Shivakumar as Venugopal exited the terminal.
Following Siddaramaiah's arrival here, his supporters countered with slogans like 'Siddu, Siddu, Poornaavadhi Siddu' (Full term CM Siddaramaiah).
The incident comes amid speculations that the Congress high command may revisit the reported internal understanding that Shivakumar would take over as Chief Minister mid-term—a claim repeatedly denied by the party but kept alive by sections within the state unit.
Speaking to reporters, Mithun Rai, a leader of the pro-Shivakumar group, insisted that there were “no rival camps” within the party, but acknowledged that many workers “would be happy to see D K Shivakumar become the Chief Minister.”
He described the slogan-shouting as an expression of “natural affection” for the Deputy CM among grassroots cadres.
The Congress in Karnataka has been facing recurring questions over leadership transition since the assembly election victory in 2023.
While both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have publicly maintained that the government is united, recent statements by their supporters—including MLAs openly batting for Shivakumar's elevation—have kept the debate alive.
Last week, Siddaramaiah dismissed talks of a change in leadership in the state as “baseless speculation,” while Shivakumar reiterated that his focus was on strengthening the party and delivering on governance.
The high command has also attempted to downplay the issue, saying the government is stable and functioning smoothly.
However, the Mangaluru episode is being viewed as another indication of simmering sentiment among a section of party workers, particularly those identified with Shivakumar’s organisational influence in the state.
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Indigo flights chaos: SCR to run special trains to clear passenger rush
Hyderabad (PTI): The South Central Railway on Saturday announced that it would run four special trains to manage the surge in passengers resulting from the large-scale cancellation of IndiGo flights here.
The move comes as flyers face significant disruption and long queues at the airport due to the cancellation.
A press release from the SCR said it is running the special trains to clear the extra rush of passengers to Chennai, Mumbai and Shalimar (Kolkata) from Hyderabad today.
Meanwhile, as many as 43 outbound Indigo flights were cancelled from here on Saturday, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport sources said.
ALSO READ: IndiGo cancels over 200 flights from Delhi, Mumbai on Saturday
Similarly, 26 incoming flights are also likely to be cancelled during the day, they said.
The flight cancellations drew ire from passengers, who thronged the IndiGo counters at the airport demanding to know the exact situation.
“This is utter nonsense! Digiyatra done, message received that departure has been rescheduled ahead of the scheduled departure and now upon arriving at Hyderabad airport coming to know at the security checkpoint that Indigo flight is cancelled,” Tarun Singha, former Ministry of Defence spokesperson said in a post on X.
“But the thing is if you don’t shout they do nothing. Example at Hyderabad Airport, there was no staff no flight information for an hour. Then a fellow passenger started shouting on mic and an Indigo staff appeared finally,” a netizen said in a post.
On Friday, when IndiGo cancelled over 1,000 flights from across airports, its CEO Pieter Elbers apologised in a video message for the major inconvenience caused to passengers due to the disruptions.
In the one-way video communication, Elbers also said that the airline was expecting fewer than 1,000 flights on Saturday.
