CM Siddaramaiah joins Minister Satish Jarkiholi's dinner amid leadership speculation

Belagavi

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with a group of Ministers and legislators, attended a dinner hosted by senior Minister Satish Jarkiholi here on December 18, official sources said.The dinner meeting held at the residence of Jarkiholi, who is considered close to Siddaramaiah, has sparked fresh speculations amid the ongoing power tussle within the ruling Congress over the CM post.

According to sources, the attendees included Ministers G Parameshwara, H C Mahadevappa, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, M C Sudhakar, and legislators A S Ponnanna, Naseer Ahmed. All of them are considered close to Siddaramaiah.The gathering followed a dinner on the night of December 17, where Jarkiholi hosted over thirty “like-minded” legislators at a hotel here.

While Siddaramaiah skipped it, his son and MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, confidant and MLA K N Rajanna, were among those who were present. Responding to a question from reporters, regarding the dinner meet, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar on Friday asked, "What's wrong in meeting for dinner?"

"Let them have dinner, it's a good thing. Can we say don't have dinner?"When pointed out that only some people were present at the meeting, Shivakumar replied, "Why should I comment on it? They met over dinner. We have all come from other places (to Belagavi for the session). What's wrong if everyone meets (over dinner)?"

Meanwhile, Jarkiholi, who hosted the dinner, said there is nothing new in it, and it will happen in the future too.

"Yes, there was a dinner meeting yesterday. The Chief Minister and senior Ministers had participated. This is not the first time it is happening, it has happened in Bengaluru and keeps happening in Belagavi. It will keep happening in the future too. There is nothing new or politics in this," he said.

Rejecting claims that Siddaramaiah is the "outgoing CM', Jarkiholi said, "The Chief Minister has himself said in the Assembly that his term is for five years."Asked about Shivakumar not being invited for the dinner, he said, "he will also be invited."

MLA Ponnanna, who is also the CM's legal advisor, said politics was not discussed at the meeting, and the CM left soon after having some soup, as he had some health issues.

"The dinner was late as there was a cabinet meeting last evening... there was no political discussion. He (CM) only said that everyone should focus on strengthening the party after the session, there was nothing else. Seven-eight of us were there," he said

The dinner meetings come a week after over 30 Congress legislators, including some Ministers, met for dinner along with Shivakumar on the outskirts of Belagavi.

While some attendees have dismissed the meetings as "casual dinners" during the ongoing winter session of the state legislature, others suggested that political developments in the state were discussed.

The power tussle within the ruling party has intensified amid speculations about a change in chief minister in the state, after the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20. The speculation was fuelled by a "power-sharing" pact between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar in 2023.

However, both CM and Deputy CM had recently held breakfast meetings at each other's residences, on the instructions of the high command, which was seen as a move to pause the leadership tussle between the two and to signal Siddaramaiah's continuation as the CM for the time being, keeping in mind the Belagavi legislature session from December 8. The winter session of the legislature is scheduled to conclude on Friday.