“I believe that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will complete a five-year term. No one has ever said that he will leave his post after two and a half years or three years. I think he will continue,’’ Satish Jarkiholi, PWD Minister and Congress leader, said in Bagalkot on Sunday (February 1, 2026).
He told reporters that there was nothing new in some legislators, who were supporters of Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, holding dinner meetings or demanding that he be made the CM.
“There is nothing new in leaders like H.C. Balakrishna holding a dinner meeting of Mr. Shivakumar’s loyalists. He has said it several times in the past and he is saying it again now,” Mr. Jarkiholi said.
“He, however, dismissed the statement of MLA Iqbal Hussein setting a deadline for change of leadership. There are seven crore people in Karnataka. Things do not change by the statement of one person,” the Minister, considered a loyalist of Mr. Siddaramaiah, said.
He said that there was no need to attach importance to the statement of K.S. Eshwarappa, Former Minister and expelled BJP leader, that he would protest against the confusion about the change in the CM, as it was affecting governance. “It is an internal matter of the Congress and there is no need for others to worry about it,’’ he said.
“However, we can not forget the fact that it was Mr Eshwarappa, who was heading dissident activities when B.S. Yediyurappa was CM. Mr. Yediyurappa could not sleep properly due to such disturbances. But the situation is different. Mr Siddaramaiah is sleeping well,’’ Mr. Jarkiholi said.
