Amid the continuing power tussle within the Karnataka Congress, Parliamentary Party leader Sonia Gandhi intervened for the first time on Saturday, holding a three-hour meeting with senior leaders in New Delhi. The talks, attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal, were described as a review of the “current political situation,” though no concrete decision was reached.
No breakthrough yet, another round of talks planned
Sources indicate the leadership is likely to reconvene on December 14 or 15, after the Congress’s planned mega rally on ‘vote theft’ at Ramlila Ground in Delhi. Party insiders said the high command has conveyed that there should be no disturbance to the Karnataka government until the next round of deliberations.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, who are at the centre of the ongoing dispute, are also expected to participate in the upcoming discussions.
Leadership publicly acknowledges internal tensions
Speaking to reporters after Saturday’s meeting, Venugopal said the Karnataka issue did come up for discussion.
“There was a general discussion on the current political situation, including Karnataka. But nothing concrete emerged today. There will be another discussion on Karnataka,” he said.
This marks the first time a senior national leader has publicly acknowledged the ongoing strain within the state unit. Until now, the party had routinely dismissed concerns regarding differences between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
Recent outreach efforts to ease tensions
The meeting followed a closed-door discussion earlier this week between Venugopal and Siddaramaiah in Mangaluru, the details of which remain undisclosed. In recent days, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have made visible efforts to project unity through what party workers dubbed ‘breakfast diplomacy’, meeting publicly to signal that “all is well.”
These gestures were reportedly encouraged by Venugopal to stabilise the situation ahead of the top leadership’s intervention.
A crucial moment for the Karnataka government
The Congress government in Karnataka has been navigating internal friction over leadership balance and future succession, with loyalists from both camps expressing unease in recent weeks. With another high-level meeting scheduled, party observers say the coming days will be critical in determining how the national leadership reconciles competing interests within the state unit.
For now, all sides appear committed to avoiding public escalation until after the December 14 rally, as the party prepares for a broader national campaign centred on electoral integrity and governance.