CM's seat being vacant a baseless rumour: Siddaramaiah

There is no confusion among us...These stories are manufactured, even if we meet over dinner SIDDARAMAIAH, Chief minister

- HT Correspondent

BENGALURU: Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday reiterated that the CM chair was not vacant and that there were no differences within the party amid speculation surrounding a change in leadership.

"There are baseless rumours suggesting my resignation or replacement. I want to make it clear that there are no internal disputes in the party, and the chief minister's seat is not vacant," Siddaramaiah stated during a media interaction on Monday as he urged the media to stop fuelling the rumours.

The CM's statement came on the same day AICC general secretary in-charge of the state, Randeep Singh Surjewala, said that the party was united in Karnataka as he addressed rumours about deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar taking the top post under a "rotational chief minister" or "power-sharing" formula.

Surjewala criticised the opposition BJP for its internal challenges and accused it of attempting to shift focus away from its issues by manufacturing stories about the Congress. "The Congress government in Karnataka is united and Siddaramaiah remains the chief minister. Any significant decisions regarding leadership will be made by Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Sonia Gandhi," Surjewala said.

Surjewala also highlighted the Congress government's ₹58,000 crore schemes, which he termed the country's most significant welfare initiative. He alleged that the opposition was attempting to undermine these efforts out of political desperation.