Karnataka switch? Congress offers Rajya Sabha berth to CM Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: The Congress leadership veered towards a change of guard in Karnataka, amid indications that CM Siddaramaiah has been offered an honourable rehabilitation including possibly a Rajya Sabha berth as part of smooth leadership transition in the state.On a day Siddaramaiah and his deputy and claimant for his post DK Shivakumar met over six hours the Congress leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal and state in-charge Randeep Surjewala, Rahul is learnt to have asked Siddaramaiah during a one-on-one meeting to consider taking up a national role in the party. He was asked to respond within a week.Venugopal - speaking to reporters flanked by the CM and the deputy CM - dismissed as "speculation" the talk of discussion about change of leadership, and said the meetings were limited to the upcoming RS and legislative council elections.

Party insiders said Siddaramaiah told Rahul he had no ambition to enter national politics, but Rahul insisted he wanted the veteran OBC leader in his team to strengthen Congress nationally.

Rahul had so far resisted the idea of replacing Siddaramaiah, even as others in the party top echelons felt that a leadership switch could help Congress.Also read: Congress says no tussle between Siddaramaiah, DKS for Karnataka CM postParty insiders said Siddaramaiah sought time to consult his loyalists before taking a decision.

During the discussions, he is learnt to have indicated that he would rather step down than confront Rahul, who had backed him for the CM post twice in his career despite him being viewed as an outsider within Congress. A rethink by Rahul marks the moment that Shivakumar has been waiting for last six months. He had all along maintained that rotational tenure was promised to him at the time of the formation of the govt.

Shivakumar was the party chief when Congress won the state elections by defeating the BJP in 2023.There was a discussion in Siddaramaiah's camp on whether he should register his protest either by refusing to resign or by stepping down and declining any national role, sources said.In case Siddaramaiah agrees to shift to RS, it may warrant a change in the leader of opposition post that is at present held by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Rahul's team also discussed cabinet berth for Sidda's son The Congress president is set to get another RS term next month, and many consider Siddaramaiah to be a strong possibility for LoP to help Congress with the OBC votebase.According to sources, Rahul's team also discussed a possible cabinet berth for Siddaramaiah's son Yathindra as part of the negotiations.The possibility of shifting the 77-year-old leader to RS has gained momentum ahead of elections to four Upper House seats from Karnataka in June. Congress is confident of winning at least three seats.It is to be seen if the CM quietly agrees to let Shivakumar replace him or puts up resistance that may open the way for a third candidate as a compromise.

Siddaramaiah camp maintained that he is still the overwhelming choice of the legislature party, and he submitted a list of 108 signatures to underline his pre-eminence.After the AICC deliberations, Siddaramaiah met loyal ministers and MLAs at his senior minister KG George's Delhi residence. He is expected to hold another round of consultations in Bengaluru on Wednesday before deciding his future course of action.Also read: Talks in Delhi leave Karnataka ministers, aspirants on edgeA senior leader pointed out that "cabinet reshuffle" in the state, as sought by Siddaramaiah, was not discussed in the AICC meetings - which indicates that the CM's continuation was not guaranteed.Party insiders said the Congress leadership was keen to avoid a "Rajasthan-like crisis", and therefore, preferred a negotiated transition rather than a tense resolution.Congress insiders have recently argued that any change of guard would only come with the consent of Siddaramaiah, as the party is mindful of his seniority as also the fact that he is a senior OBC leader whose social engineering gives the party a political advantage. A senior state leader said the party has to consider the possible ramifications of ejecting Siddaramaiah, whose community of Kuruba has a statewide presence and the clout to hurt the Congress.