Bengaluru, May 26 (IANS) Former minister and Madhugiri Congress MLA K.N. Rajanna, a close associate of Siddaramaiah, said on Tuesday that there will be no change of Chief Minister, and no such discussion has taken place.

Speaking to mediapersons at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, Rajanna dismissed reports of any move to replace the Chief Minister and said the Delhi meetings could instead be related to discussions on a cabinet reshuffle and the upcoming Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections.

“About six months ago, I participated in an International Cooperative Banking Association conference held in New York. Now, many leaders have gone to Delhi. Some may aspire to become ministers, and others may want to become the Chief Minister. But I have no such aspirations,” Rajanna said.

Clarifying further on the political developments, he said: “There might have been discussions regarding the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections. Additionally, the Chief Minister might have briefed LoP Rahul Gandhi about a cabinet reshuffle. A clear picture will emerge only after the Chief Minister returns from Delhi.”

When asked whether he would accept a ministerial berth if offered one, Rajanna said: “If I get it, I will accept it. If I don’t, I have no regrets.”

It may be noted that the Congress high command on Tuesday downplayed the Karnataka Congress crisis and the leadership tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar.

After a day-long marathon meeting at Indira Bhavan in Delhi, national leaders maintained that the discussions were entirely focused on the upcoming Rajya Sabha and other elections.

They also refused to take questions from the media during the briefing.

K.C. Venugopal stated: “AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, and I were part of the discussions. Today’s discussions were only concentrated on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Karnataka Legislative Council elections.”

“The speculations being made by the media are only speculation. There is no reality in them at all. Today, we discussed only the Rajya Sabha seats and the Council seats of Karnataka,” he said.

–IANS

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