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Sources said ministers KH Muniyappa, Mankal Vaidya, MC Sudhakar, MLA NA Haris, Ramesh Bandisidegowda, HC Balakrishna, Ganesh Hukkeri, Darshan Dhruvanarayan, Ashok Kumar Rai, KY Nanjegowda were present in the meeting.
He said expelled BJP MLAs ST Somashekhar and Shivram Hebbar also attended the dinner.
The dinner meeting came a day after CM Siddaramaiah met ministers and some MLAs considered close to him for a dinner hosted by former Belagavi North MLA Firoz Sait.
Although leaders have described it as a casual dinner meeting, speculation is rife as it took place amid a power struggle in the ruling party over the CM post.
As the Congress government reached the halfway point of its five-year term on November 20, there was speculation about a change in the chief minister as a power-sharing deal was believed to have been struck between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar after the grand old party wins the assembly elections in 2023.
As soon as the government crossed this important date, activities in the Congress intensified and on the instructions of the high command, both the CM and the Deputy CM met for breakfast at each other’s residence. This was seen as a move to stop the leadership contest between the two and signal that Siddaramaiah will remain the CM for now, especially ahead of the Belagavi Legislative Session.