Jarkiholi meets Kharge, says K’taka CM issue to be resolved soon

New Delhi/Bengaluru: PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi said on Saturday the Congress high command has made up its mind on whether there will be a change of chief minister in Karnataka and that a formal announcement on this will be made soon. "It is not clear whether there will be a change of chief minister. We have told the high command to take a final call on that. He [Kharge] responded positively, and said everything will be sorted out soon," Jarkiholi said.
Reacting to Jarkiholi's statement, deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar said in Bengaluru he was "happy to hear that". Jarkiholi and former minister K N Rajanna, both considered loyal to chief minister Siddaramaiah, met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi and held discussions for about half an hour. After the meeting, Jarkiholi said they discussed the tussle in Karnataka between rival supporters of Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar over the issue of chief minister and urged the party's central leadership to resolve the current imbroglio at the earliest. However, both Jarkiholi and Rajanna clarified that they neither discussed changing the state Congress president, a post currently held by Shivakumar, nor did they talk about a cabinet reshuffle. Asked about the CM's statement and a social media post on rising corruption in Karnataka, Shivakumar said he had no information on that. On the Bagalkot violence, he said he had returned to Bengaluru late on Friday night from Assam after marathon meetings and was exhausted. "I have no information on this issue. I will gather details," he said. Shivakumar is one of the senior central observers of the Congress party for the forthcoming Assam assembly elections. Responding to a query on whether a Congress delegation would visit the affected area in Bagalkot and whether compensation would be paid, the deputy CM said a decision would be taken once officials submit their report.