New Delhi, Jan 15 : Karnataka deputy chief minister and Congress leader D K Shivakumar will be in the national capital on Friday with regard to planning for the upcoming Assam assembly elections and is likely to meet some senior leaders, sources said.
Shivakumar, who is the senior observer for Assam assembly elections along with former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, may also meet Rahul Gandhi during his visit to the national capital.
The elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly are slated in a few months’ time along with other states — Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal.
Shivakumar has been in the news for some time, ever since he reiterated his claim to the top post in Karnataka after the completion of half of the tenure of the Congress government in the state. His visit on Friday has again given rise to talks about leadership change in the state.
Referring to his recent meeting with Rahul Gandhi at an airport in Karnataka, he on Wednesday clarified that contrary to media reports, the senior Congress leader only asked him and state CM Siddaramaiah to continue the good work.
Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress President, also downplayed speculations regarding his social media post, which read “efforts may fail, but prayers won’t”, linking it to his brief conversation with Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday evening.
Rahul Gandhi’s brief conversation with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and his deputy and a claimant for the CM’s chair, Shivakumar, has sparked off speculations amid the ongoing power tussle between the two.
“I’m the state Congress President; he (Rahul Gandhi) is the leader of opposition (in Lok Sabha). He was also earlier the Congress President. Can our meeting with him, discussions with him, giving respect to him and receiving him as per protocol — be discussed in public? You (media) unnecessarily quote someone off the record, creating confusion…” Shivakumar told reporters.
“There is no message; we met him (Rahul Gandhi). He asked us to continue the good work… We have informed him of the programmes planned regarding MGNREGA (Save MGNREGA campaign) in the state. We have also discussed BJP’s politics in the state,” he added.
The brief conversation between the leaders took place on Tuesday at the Mandakalli Airport, as Rahul Gandhi landed there for transit, on his way back to New Delhi from Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, where he attended an event.
The former AICC president held brief conversations with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, both separately and together.
Asked about his social media post, the Deputy CM said it was not something new, and he has made this statement in the past as well. (PTI)
