Shivakumar makes a final surge as Siddaramaiah approaches the finish line

Following a series of behind-closed-door talks in Delhi, Siddaramaiah now appears to be ahead of his challenger, DK Shivakumar, in the contest for the top position in the state.On Monday, as the centre of the action shifted from Bengaluru to Delhi, where a series of closed-door meetings spilled late into the night, former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah appeared to pull ahead of his rival, state Congress unit chief DK Shivakumar.As the 76-year-old Siddaramaiah touched down in the Capital in the late afternoon, rumours began to fly. In Bengaluru, meanwhile, Shivakumar initially stated that he would not be travelling to Delhi due to ill health but later informed reporters that he would try to travel there on Tuesday, indicating that the final choice had not yet been made.

Following a decisive victory, the Karnataka deadlock has become a test of whether the Congress has learned from its past errors.On the one hand, if the party wants to maintain the momentum from its biggest poll victory in over five years, the leadership crisis must be resolved fast. On the other hand, in order to avoid the circumstances in Rajasthan, where senior leader Sachin Pilot’s open rebellion continues to trouble the party, Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress government collapsed mid-term, or Chhattisgarh, where rivalry over power has resulted in periodic outbursts, the leadership will need to be cautious to appease both sides and not let discontent simmer.

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