'We Want Shivakumar To Be CM': Congress MLAs Reignite Buzz Over Karnataka Leadership Change Despite Gag Orders
Several Congress MLAs have been openly expressing their support for Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar to be selected for the top post, fueling speculations of a possible leadership change.
Karnataka Congress leaders are refusing to back down from showcasing their support for Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar even as the party high command issued gag orders, preventing them from making any statement on the leadership change row.
Congres MLA CP Yogeshwar on Tuesday reignited the specualtion on potential leadership change in the state as he claimed that majority of the party legislators are backing Shivakumar to take over the CM's post from Siddaramaiah.
Stressing that there is no disagreement in this regard, Yogeshwara said: "We, the MLAs, are demanding it. The high command will have to make the decision. I don't want a ministerial post; I only want Shivakumar to become the CM."
"The people of the region also want it to happen," he added.
Another senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Minister Tanveer Sait hinted at the potential leadership change, saying that the party must be open to transition and that the time had come for the party to allow new faces to emerge, India Today reported.
“I feel leadership can’t be stagnant. New leadership has to come and grow. Whenever the opportunity is given, it’ll happen. But individual giving out statements shouldn’t be considered as protest,” the Mysuru MLA said.
These remarks have added to the ongoing chorus within the Congress' Karnataka unit backing Shivakumar as the future CM. Despite days of speculation on the matter and several MLAs voicing their support for Shivakumar, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) is yet to make any official statement.
AICC in-charge for Karnataka, and party MP Randeep Surjewala on Tuesday reacted to the party legislators backing Shivakumar for CM's post. He said that he has askd the MLAs to give him in writing if they have any issues. "As far as MLAs are concerned, they can have issues and I have asked them to give me in writing," he said.
Meanwhile Siddaramaiah has maintained that he will serve the full five-year term and that all is well between him and his deputy. Shivakumar, on the other hand, has said that his aspirations will be fulfilled if not by effort, then by prayer.
Amid reports that nearly 100 Congress MLAs are supporting Shivakumar for the CM post, the Karnataka Deputy CM said: "... This is not the time to discuss politics. There is no vacancy in the Chief Minister's chair."
VIDEO | "... This is not the time to discuss politics. There is no vacancy in the Chief Minister's chair," says Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) in Delhi, amid reports that 100 Congress MLAs are backing him for the CM post.#Delhi pic.twitter.com/YwsJ6Cvr6M
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 8, 2025
It Is Their Duty To Visit Delhi, Says Randeep Surjewala
Siddaramaiah and D. K. Shivakumar are expected to meet the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday night. He will also meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during the New Delhi visit.
Shivakumar left for Delhi in the morning today and is scheduled to meet Union Minister for Jal Shakti, C.R. Patil. Later in the day, he will also meet Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav.
Surjewala also commented on the buzz surrounding the CM and Deputy CM's Delhi visit, saying that they have not been barred from visiting the national capital and that they often travel for government work.
"There is no bar on CM and DCM from travelling to Delhi... For government work and for pleading our case before the Government of India, they often travel to Delhi. They should be doing so, and with all their might, to persuade the government of India, to not discriminate against and not give a step-motherly treatment to the people of Karnataka," he said, adding "this is their duty."
(With inputs from news ageny IANS.)
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