Yathindra stokes power tussle fire yet again, says his father will stay on for full term

The “breakfast diplomacy” between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to quell speculation over leadership change and signal unity ahead of Winter session at Belagavi seems to be cracking up in the very first week of the session itself.

For the second time this week, amid the ongoing legislature session, Chief Minister’s son and MLC Yathindra gave a new lease of life to the leadership issue by stating that the high command favoured continuation of his father and that he would continue for five years. This, predictably, drew a sharp reaction from Mr. Shivakumar.

‘No confusion’

“There is no confusion about leadership in the State as I have said before. The high command has clearly said that there is no change in leadership as of now,” Mr. Yathindra told presspersons here Thursday.

The Congress MLC had created a stir in the party after raking up the leadership issue on Monday — the first day of the session. He had said, responding to questions from reporters, “Personally, I have confidence that my father will complete his full term as Chief Minister. He running the government well and people are happy with the Congress government.”

The salvo from the Chief Minister’s son comes after the two top leaders — after apparently being nudged by the high command — met twice for breakfast in Bengaluru. It was being interpreted as a meeting for optics of unity ahead of the winter session. The camp followers of the two leaders have been indulging in shadowboxig over the so-called “power sharing” agreement after two and a half years. The Chief Minister’s camp has not acknowledged any power sharing agreement.

‘CM will respond’

When his response was sought to the statement of Mr. Yathindra, a visibly disturbed Mr. Shivakumar told reporters, “The Chief Minister will respond.”

While party leaders believe that the breakfast meet drew a temporary truce, they expect tussle to only intensify after the first week of January, 2026, when Mr. Siddaramaiah will create the record of being longest serving Chief Minister passing the more than four-decade-old record of the late D. Devaraja Urs.