New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday described reports of a possible leadership change in Karnataka as “mere speculation”, stating that day-long discussions between central and state leaders were focused only on upcoming elections to the Rajya Sabha and the state Legislative Council.

Though Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had called the meeting primarily to finalise candidates for the two polls, attention remained fixed on the ongoing leadership tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, both of whom were summoned to Delhi along with supporting MLAs.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar arrived in the national capital accompanied by MLAs backing their respective positions.

At the centre of the internal dispute is Shivakumar’s demand to be elevated to the chief minister’s post, linked by his supporters to an alleged “promise” made during the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections.

High-level meeting at Indira Bhawan

The Congress central leadership held several hours of discussions with Karnataka leaders at the Indira Bhawan headquarters. The meeting was attended by Congress president Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Surjewala, among others.

Party leaders, however, maintained that no discussion on leadership change took place.

“Today, the entire discussion was only concentrated on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and (Legislative) Council elections of Karnataka.

Whatever speculation you people are doing, that is only speculation, no reality at all. Today we discussed about the Rajya Sabha seats and the Council seats of Karnataka,” Venugopal told the media after the meeting. He was flanked by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.

He added that candidates for Rajya Sabha and Council seats from Karnataka would be announced along with those from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

“This is what we have decided today, and nothing else was discussed,” he said.

Denials over leadership change and cabinet reshuffle

Responding to questions on leadership change, Siddaramaiah said, “It is only a speculation”. When asked again, he replied firmly with “No”.

On the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle, the chief minister said, “It did not come up for discussion.”

Of the four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka set to fall vacant, the Congress is in a position to win three, while the BJP is expected to secure one.

Kharge’s Rajya Sabha term ends in June, and he is likely to be re-elected from Karnataka.

The party is also considering fielding D K Suresh, Shivakumar’s brother and a former Rajya Sabha member, along with a woman or OBC candidate. Suresh has previously served as a member of the Upper House.

Congress leaders are also understood to have discussed candidates for Legislative Council seats. The party is expected to secure four of the seven vacant seats, based on its current strength in the state assembly.