Late-Night Political Dinner?: Shivakumar Meets Over 40 MLAs At Belagavi Farmhouse As Karnataka Power Tussle Intensifies

Bengaluru: As power tussle over the Chief Minister's post escalated in Karnataka, more than 40 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) reportedly met with Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar on Thursday night for dinner.

The meeting was held at the farmhouse of Congress leader Praveen Doddanavar in Belagavi.

The Deputy CM later downplayed the dinner meeting, saying there was nothing special about it. He called the meeting a purely social occasion. He added, "I had gone for a dinner to my former DCC President to pay respect, they contributed a lot to Karnataka, Belgavi. So to honour them, I went along with my friends. There is no other politics."

Notably, the meeting comes after MLAs allegedly belonging to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's camp met for dinner in Belagavi.

The back-to-back meeting comes amid reports that D. K. Shivakumar will become the Chief Minister of Karnataka after January 15.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar said that he is set to visit Delhi to discuss the ‘vote chori’ issue. Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also said that he will join the protest against ‘vote chori’ in the national capital. 

What Led To The Power Tussle In Karnataka?

The Congress won the Karnataka Assembly elections of 2023 with a thumping majority. Following the win, a rumoured ‘power-sharing' agreement was reached between Congress leaders D. K. Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. It is reported that the agreement was finalised at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence.

According to the agreement, Siddaramaiah was to be the Chief Minister of Karnataka for the first 2.5 years of the tenure won in the elections. Siddaramaiah had reportedly agreed to resign one week before completing the 2.5 years, paving the way for D. K. Shivakumar to take over the CM's post for the remainder time.

The power tussle began since the 2.5 years mark was reached on November 20, but Siddaramaiah has not yet resigned from the post.

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