Breakfast did the trick? Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar claim ‘no differences’, eye 2028 agenda

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Saturday asserted that there are no differences between the two senior leaders of Congress and agenda is 2028 amid power tussle in Karnataka's political landscape. Siddaramaiah had invited Deputy CM DK Shivakumar for breakfast to his Cauvery residence to discuss certain concerning issues amid power-struggle for CM post.

He said, “The breakfast was good. We didn't talk about anything there. We just had breakfast. DKS came to our house today...DKS invited me to his house.”

Emphasising that upcoming 2028 Assembly elections are on agenda, he stated, "There are no differences between us and there will be no differences in the future," ANI reported.

“Our agenda is the 2028 elections. Local body elections are important. We discussed them. We also discussed bringing back Congress in the 2028 elections. We discussed that we will go together. There are no differences between us and there will be no differences in the future, ” ANI quoted Siddaramaiah as saying.

Alleging that BJP and JDS are making false allegations, he added, "The BJP and JDS have a habit of making false allegations. The BJP and JDS have made statements that they will bring a no-confidence motion. They are only 60, and the JDS is 18. They cannot match our numbers. We are 140. This is a futile exercise. We will confront their false allegations."

Asserting that there is no confusion, he further noted, “We have decided that we will follow whatever the high command says. There will be no confusion from tomorrow. There is still no confusion. Some media reporters have created the confusion.”

Will DK Shivakumar take over CM post after next Assembly elections?

During the much-anticipated breakfast meeting, Siddaramaiah urged DK Shivakumar to take over the chief minister post after the next Assembly elections in the state in 2028, Hindustan Times reported citing sources. Amid speculation over leadership change in the state, both leaders stuck to their positions during the meeting.

The contentious issue surfaced after Siddaramaiah-led state government completed two-and-a-half years in power on November 20. Notably, Siddaramaiah assumed the CM post back in 2023 and a “rotational CM arrangement” or “power-sharing deal” was reportedly agreed upon according to which the chief minister was apparently supposed to relinquish his post to his deputy after completion of half tenure.

As per this “secret deal” anchored by the Congress leadership, DK Shivakumar was supposed to take over the CM role after Siddaramaiah completed half of his tenure. Amid the buzz over a possible leadership change, Siddaramaiah tried to settle matters following orders of high command to discuss the issue. Hence, he invited his deputy over for breakfast this morning ahead of commencement of winter session of Parliament from 1 December.

Following the significant meeting, DK Shivakumar in a post on X wrote, “Met Hon’ble CM Shri @siddaramaiah avaru at Cauvery Residence this morning for a breakfast meeting. A productive discussion on Karnataka’s priorities and the road ahead.”