Siddaramaiah will continue as K'taka CM under 'current situation': Minister Parameshwara
Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday asserted that Siddaramaiah will continue as the Chief Minister for the full five-year term under the "current situation".
He, however, maintained that any decision regarding the leadership change rests solely with the Congress high command.
"We don't know anything (about leadership change). Who said there will be a change? Who will change? The AICC has to do it. Since they haven't said anything, should we keep guessing? When they want to make changes, the high command will say so; they might not make any changes either," Parameshwara told reporters.
Asked if Siddaramaiah will continue as Chief Minister, he said, "Of course, he will, why shouldn't he? Siddaramaiah will continue under the current situation."
"If Siddaramaiah cannot continue, I'm not the one to say; it will not happen just because Parameshwara says so; the high command has to say," he added.
Amid the ongoing power tussle within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah recently asserted that the party's government will remain in power for two more years and that he is the Chief Minister of the state.
The leadership tussle within the ruling party has intensified amid speculation about a possible change of chief minister after the Congress government completed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, 2025.
The speculation has been fuelled by the reported "power-sharing" arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar at the time of government formation in 2023.
To a query about Shivakumar's aspirations to become the CM, the Home Minister said, "... He is our party state president, our senior leader and the Deputy Chief Minister. Who has to make him the Chief Minister? The high command has to respond, what they say is final. Let's wait until then."
In response to a question on the leadership issue causing a lot of confusion, Parameshwara asked, "Who created confusion? Did the Congress high command do it?"
Recalling that there was no explicit declaration in 2013 that Siddaramaiah would serve as the CM for five years, but he successfully completed his term until 2018, he said, "When Siddaramaiah was made CM in 2023, he has to be there for the full term. If he will not be there for the full term, high command has to decide."
Clarifying that the results of the upcoming by-polls in Bagalkote and Davanagere South will have no bearing on the CM's position, the senior Minister said, "Why should they be linked? Has anyone said there will be a change? Leave the BJP aside, we don't want their assessment. Should we run the administration based on what the BJP says?"
"There may be some discussion regarding a change in our party, but I'm not ready to say that there will be changes after the bypolls. Others can make their own personal assessments," he added.
Bypolls for the Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly constituencies will be held on April 9. The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, respectively.
BJP MP and former CM Basavaraj Bommai recently said that the ongoing power tussle within the ruling Congress has taken a "short break" because of bypolls, and claimed that the state will witness a "political wrestling" for the Chief Minister's chair in May.
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Four killed in car-lorry collision in Karnataka's Tumakuru district
Tumakuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Four people travelling in a car were killed in a head-on collision with a lorry in this district on Saturday, police said.
The accident occurred near Chigani Palya in Kunigal taluk of Tumakuru district between a car travelling from Tumakuru towards Mandya and a lorry coming from Kunigal towards Tumakuru, they said.
Due to the impact of the collision, Kumar Narasimhaswamy (65), his wife Gayathri (60), and his sister Gayathri (55), residents of Suvarnasandra in Mandya district, died on the spot, police said.
Another person, believed to be the car driver, also lost his life. His identity is yet to be confirmed, they added.
The lorry driver, however, escaped unhurt and was subsequently taken into police custody.
According to the police, Kumar along with his wife and sister had visited Devarayanadurga, a temple town and hill station, on the occasion of their wedding anniversary. They were returning home when the tragedy occurred.
Kunigal Police Station Inspector Madhya Nayak and his staff visited the spot and conducted an inspection. The bodies have been shifted to the Kunigal Government Hospital, a senior police officer said.
A case has been registered at Kunigal Police Station and further investigation is underway, he added.
