Being Congressman, I've to work for party: Shivakumar on appointment as Assam election observer

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who has been appointed as a senior observer for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, on Thursday said that he had no option and, as a Congressman, would work for the party.

Shivakumar, along with former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Jharkhand MLA Bandhu Tirkey, was appointed on Wednesday by the Congress as the party’s senior observers for the Assam Assembly elections.

''I don’t have any option. Whatever the party tells us to do, we have to do it. That is what being a Congressman means. I have seen the AICC press release. They have asked me to look after Assam. I had been to Assam earlier as well, long ago, and now they want me there again. I will be going,'' Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress President, told reporters.

Elections to 126 constituencies in Assam are likely to be held in March-April.

Shivakumar’s appointment as a senior observer has triggered speculation, as he is widely seen as a claimant for the chief minister’s post, amid talk of a leadership change in Karnataka.

The power tussle within the ruling Congress has intensified amid speculation about a change in CM after the government crossed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20.

The speculation has been fueled by a reported power-sharing understanding between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the time of the Congress forming the government in 2023.