Infighting in K’taka Cong escalates as ex-MP claims Shivakumar to replace Siddaramaiah by NovMandya: Infighting within the ruling Congress party in Karnataka surfaced once again on Wednesday after senior leader and former MP L.R. Shivakumar will become the Chief Minister in November, fuelling speculation over a mid-term leadership change. There’s no doubt about Dy CM Shivakumar eventually becoming CM, but the final decision rests with the high command. Zameer Ahmad made it clear that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would serve the full five-year term. “Neither Chief Minister Siddaramaiah nor state Congress President and Dy CM Shivakumar mentioned anything about it.