Bengaluru: A late-night meeting Tuesday between deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar and long-time rival and cabinet colleague Satish Jarkiholi triggered fresh buzz of a political churn in Karnataka. The two met at an undisclosed location in Bengaluru, with discussions reportedly stretching past midnight. Both confirmed the meeting Wednesday but insisted it centred on preparations for the 2028 assembly and 2029 Lok Sabha elections. However, aides of Shivakumar said he sought Jarkiholi’s support in persuading chief minister Siddaramaiah to honour an “unwritten pact” that he would step down at the halfway mark, a deal that was brokered in New Delhi in 2023. “The meeting with Jarkiholi was about elections in 2028 and 2029 and party organisation. What’s the harm in meeting Satish, he is my cabinet colleague,” Shivakumar said Wednesday. On the 2023 deal, he said: “I can’t speak about it with the media.” However, the development comes amid strained relations between the two, especially over political dominance in Belagavi — Jarkiholi’s stronghold. Shivakumar had openly backed women and child development minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, also from Belagavi, against Jarkiholi. Last month, Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra had also described Jarkiholi (not Shivakumar) as the inheritor of Siddaramaiah’s political legacy and someone capable of carrying forward the Ahinda vote bank of backward classes, minorities, and SC/ST communities. But Shivakumar insisted the meeting was part of routine party coordination. “I am the party president, Satish is the working president,” he said. “Besides, we are close friends. Our relationship is good and we have worked together. Both of us are currently working in the same cabinet. Jarkiholi is a big asset to the party. We will continue our work together. The govt has completed two-and-a-half years. We discussed what work needs to be completed in the remaining term. Other than that, there is nothing special about our conversation.” Jarkiholi took a similar line, pointing out that Shivakumar had met with many functionaries recently. He said the party high command must decide on leadership matters and noted that Siddaramaiah himself had suggested that the decision be made soon. On home minister G Parameshwara’s claim to the CM post, Jarkiholi said: “There is nothing wrong in making such claims… but who will finally decide? That happens in Delhi. All that we can do is just make a claim.” Shivakumar dismissed reports of factionalism. “I don’t have a faction. There is only one faction — the ‘Congress faction’. My number is 140. This party has been built through collective leadership. I alone didn’t work for it. Under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and with the efforts of all MLAs, we brought the party to the helm in the state. Satish Jarkiholi and I met to discuss ways to sustain this.” Asked whether the halfway point would mark a transition, he said: “There are no personal issues here. The party decides everything. The CM post or high office is unimportant. What is important is working together with everyone and bringing the party back to the helm.” On reports of a Saturday (Nov 29) meeting in Delhi, he said: “The 28th is Constitution Day… The 29th is still far away; let’s see. I don’t know.”
