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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday hosted a dinner meeting for all his Cabinet colleagues. The meeting came weeks ahead of the completion of two and a half years of the Congress government in the state.
Although there was speculation of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle in the State, Karnataka Minister Ramalinga Reddy stated that the only agenda of the dinner meeting was the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Zilla Panchayat (ZP), and Taluk Panchayat (TP) elections. Asked whether the ministers' performances were discussed, he said that no such evaluation was conducted in the meeting. "The only agenda was elections. For Bangalore people, BBMP, and for rural people, ZP/TP," Ramalinga Reddy told reporters after the meeting. The meeting also took place in the backdrop of the supporters of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar within the Congress, maintaining that he would be the CM. After Congress won the 2023 Assembly election in the State, DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah were the contenders for the CM post. After holding many rounds of discussion, the Congress high command chose Siddaramaiah for the CM post. There were reports at that time that Shivakumar agreed to the decision after the rotation of the CM post between him and Siddaramaiah. The Congress central leadership, however, never publicly acknowledged such an arrangement as being in existence. The Congress's central leadership has silenced Shivakumar's supporters' claims by issuing notices to refrain them from making any remarks regarding the issue. Moreover, Randeep Surjewala, the party's general secretary in charge of Karnataka, has also dismissed the speculation as baseless. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has stated on several occasions that he intends to complete his five-year term as Chief Minister. DK Shivakumar also warned against any Congress leaders publicly commending the leadership change in the party. He also said that he would abide by the decision of the party's high command in this regard. (ANI)
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