Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said he is not aspiring to become Chief Minister and that his focus is on strengthening the Congress ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.

Speaking exclusively to India Today, Shivakumar said, “Discipline stands as the highest priority of the Congress.” Asked about MLAs openly supporting him to take over as Chief Minister, Shivakumar responded, “I don’t want anyone’s support. I’m not aspiring for the Chief Minister post now. My aspiration is to see that Congress comes to power in 2028. That is my priority.”

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Shivakumar’s comments follow Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala’s clarification that no leadership change in Karnataka was underway. His statement followed open endorsements by Shivakumar’s supporters and claims by Congress leaders that a significant number of MLAs backed him for the top post.

The Deputy Chief Minister further said, “The party is more important. Discipline is more important. And this is a year of organisational change, which has been decided by the Working Committee in Belagavi. Across the entire country, we want to make all the District Congress Committee (DCC) offices stronger. That is why this process is going on.”

“Legislators also should take the responsibility of building a Congress office in every assembly segment. Some DCCs have remained unchanged for more than 10 years. My working president GC Chandrashekhar has sent letters to all of them. I have approved the new list, and that process is going on,” he said.

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Shivakumar emphasised that the state Congress in-charge secretary Surjewala was visiting to review the implementation of the party’s pre-election guarantees, the level of discipline among elected representatives, and how MLAs are meeting commitments to the people of Karnataka.

– Ends