Mysuru, 8 Oct

Senior Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Tuesday said Siddaramaiah will remain as Chief Minister, and the Congress high command has not discussed with him and other party leaders about the possibility of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar replacing him at some point in time.

Speaking to reporters, Jarkiholi, who is at the forefront of behind-the-scenes political activities within Congress amid demands for Siddaramaiah's resignation by the Opposition following charges against him in the MUDA case, however, said the party's central leadership can respond to questions whether he will hold the post for a full term of five years.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, a powerful leader from the Vokkaliga community, for the Chief Minister's post after the Assembly election results in May last year, and Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

Amid demand by Opposition parties for Siddaramaiah to quit, Jarkiholi on Sunday met Home Minister G Parameshwara, a senior leader from the SC community, in Tumakuru, after last week's meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi, leading to intense speculations in political circles over leadership change.

There was also a closed-door meeting earlier between Jarkiholi, Parameshwara and Social Welfare Minister Dr HC Mahadevappa, who is also from SC community.

Amid calls for a Dalit/ST CM within a section of the party that has surfaced time and again, Parameshwara, Jarkiholi and Mahadevappa are seen as front-runners for the chief minister post if the situation arises.

On meetings between him and Jarkiholi, and Mahadevappa becoming a point of discussion in political circles, Parameshwara said: "It is good if there are discussions. Like 'Chai pe Charcha', we had a discussion over coffee."

"Just because two of us meet over a coffee and because of that if one is made a CM, many such discussions would take place and a lot of coffee will get consumed," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, taking a dig at "developments" within Congress, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ahoka said there is a "running race" in the ruling party for the chief minister post. He said "breakfast and dinner meetings" are on among ministers to replace him. “There are rumours within Congress that Siddaramaiah may resign in 10-15 days," the BJP leader said. -PTI