"Nothing will happen, Congress will be united": KC Venugopal rejects speculations on leadership change in Karnataka

Speaking to ANI, Congress General Secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said, "You can see what is happening in Karnataka, in Bengaluru. Nothing will happen. Congress will be united. They are together now in Bengaluru."

After an hour-long breakfast of Idli-Sambar and Upma on Saturday morning, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Deputy DK Shivakumar reaffirmed cohesion and unity within the Congress party, saying that both the leaders have decided to follow whatever the decision of the party high command is and resolve any "confusion".

"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," CM Siddaramaiah said during a press conference.

CM Siddaramaiah had called his deputy for a breakfast meet earlier today at his Cauvery residence, during which the two held a "productive meeting" to discuss the state's priorities and the "road ahead."

Talking about the breakfast meeting, the Chief Minister said that they both "just had breakfast" after Congress' General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal asked Siddaramaiah to invite DK Shivakumar and A S Ponnanna.

According to CM, they discussed their agenda for the 2028 elections and the upcoming local body elections.

"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," he said.

"We have discussed together that we will go together like we did in the 2023 election. We don't have any differences and there will be no differences even in future. We work together," the CM added.

While hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS) for making "false allegations," Siddaramaiah 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."

Deputy CM Shivakumar reaffirmed the CM's sentiment, saying that they are looking to fulfil the wishes of the people of the state.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said that there is a clear tension between the two leaders and Congress high command is deliberately troubling the Congress ranks in Karnataka.

"The situation in Karnataka has escalated to the point where the Chief Minister needs to invite his Deputy Chief Minister for breakfast. There is clear tension; a conflict exists between the two. The Congress leadership appears to be deliberately stirring trouble, fostering rivalry between them. The Delhi court prioritises whoever pleases them the most. Their only goal is to garner praise. The Delhi Congress leadership is leveraging the Karnataka government: they told Siddaramaiah he's the Chief Minister, informed DK Shivakumar he was about to be, and Kharge is also involved as the Congress President, who is from Karnataka and active in Karnataka politics. There is so much conflict that there's no such thing as a government. The government isn't functioning at all," Hussain said. (ANI)