Bengaluru, March 16 Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met some of his cabinet colleagues for dinner on Monday, sparking speculation amid the ongoing power struggle within the ruling Congress over the leadership change issue.
According to official sources, about 14 ministers were present at the dinner meeting, including Ramalinga Reddy, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, among others.
During the meeting, the CM reportedly discussed preparations for the April 9 by-elections for the Bagalkote and Davangere South Assembly constituencies, as well as other upcoming elections, including for Zilla and Taluk Panchayats and five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority.
They were also said to have discussed internal reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC) in recruitment for government jobs.
This comes amidst reports of alleged rifts between the SC (Right) and SC (Left) factions within the ruling Congress regarding internal reservations during the recruitment announced for 56,432 vacant jobs.
This meeting took place amid discussions about a possible change in the Chief Minister and pressure within the party for a cabinet reshuffle.
There have been several informal dinner meetings of ruling party legislators in the last couple of weeks.
Amid the ongoing power struggle between him and his deputy D K Shivakumar over the Chief Minister's post, Siddaramaiah earlier this month asserted that he can continue and present two more budgets if the Congress high command gives him the opportunity.
The power struggle within the ruling party has intensified amid speculation about a possible change of Chief Minister after the Congress government completes its halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, 2025.
This speculation has been fueled by the reported "power-sharing" arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the time of government formation in 2023.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar will be visiting New Delhi on Tuesday, during which he is scheduled to meet Members of Parliament from Karnataka and union ministers from the state, putting pressure on the Centre to intervene regarding several key projects involving the state, including projects over inter-state rivers. He is also scheduled to meet advocates representing the state.
Shivakumar had met the CM earlier in the day and held discussions.