CM chair rope tussle: Another headache for the Congress high command?

Handling the Karnataka CM chair rope tussle has become a headache for the Congress high command yet again, with critics accusing it of failing to resolve the infighting among Karnataka Congress party leaders.

The tug-of-war between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has been in the shadows till now and it is said that the high command is afraid of coming out recently.

After the Lok Sabha elections, those close to Siddaramaiah are now demanding additional Deputy Chief Minister posts, which is said to be an attempt to curb DK Shivakumar's influence in the state government.

DK.Sivakumar was hopeful that Siddaramaiah would relinquish his seat midway of the government's five-year term, but Siddaramaiah has shown no inclination to step down, it is said.

Although neither Siddaramaiah nor DK Shivakumar have made a public statement on this, supporters of both have repeatedly kept the debate going with the demand for the posts of Chief Minister and additional Deputy Chief Minister.

It is said that the tussle over the post of CM, which erupted after Congress's landslide victory in the assembly elections last year, went to the high command and DK Shivakumar was pacified as deputy chief minister with a half-term formula.