A day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s AHINDA (minorities and backward classes) legislators’ dinner in the city, Shivakumar met over 50 MLAs at a separate gathering on the outskirts of Belagavi. He rejected suggestions that it was a political move or a parallel mobilisation, insisting it was merely a routine visit to long-time party supporters.
The back-to-back meetings have intensified chatter within the Congress amid the ongoing Assembly session. Party insiders confirmed that more than 50 MLAs, including five ministers, were present at Shivakumar’s dinner at a farmhouse, fuelling speculation of a show of strength as the party leadership prepares for a key meeting in Delhi after December 19.
The timing also drew attention following Yathindra Siddaramaiah’s recent statement that the Chief Minister would complete his full five-year term, a remark believed to have caused unease within the Shivakumar camp.
Shivakumar, however, maintained there was no political angle. “There was no grand dinner or MLA event,” he said. “It was just the family of our former District Congress President, a large Congress family, who have been inviting us for 15 years. A few people joined us, that’s all.”
He added that such invitations are routine. “People from our constituency invite us every day. One day it’s them, another day it’s someone else. Yesterday, Shafeeq Shett invited us, and Feroz Shett also invited us. We simply go where people call us with love,” he said, recalling how he was offered traditional dishes like ragi mudde and uppu saaru.
With both factions preparing for the upcoming consultations reportedly led by Sonia Gandhi, the twin dinner meetings have added a new layer to the ongoing discussions over internal power equations within the Karnataka Congress.
