Former Karnataka chief minister S Siddaramaiah on Tuesday claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had offered him the post of general secretary in the party, but he refused the offer.

“I don’t have any interest in national politics. I am confined to the politics of Karnataka only, Siddaramaiah said.

The senior Karnataka Congress leader also met his party president Sonia Gandhi and deliberated upon the upcoming bypolls in two assembly constituencies in the state and other party issues.

“I was called for a meeting. I met Sonia Gandhi. By-elections and the Congress party issues were discussed,” the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly said.

Bypolls to Sindgi and Hangal assembly constituencies will be held on October 30.

When asked whether the Congres leadrship was considering a larger role for him in the national politics, Siddaramaiah said it is “incorrect”. 

“Except for Karnataka politics, no national politics was discussed,” he said.

Siddaramaiah, however, claimed that earlier Rahul gandhi had offered him the post of party general secretary, which he had declined. The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly also said that he was made a member of the Congress Working Committee but had resigned from that post also.

Amid power tussle with DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah today met the Congress president. 

Notably, Siddaramaiah is considered to have a strong presence in Karnataka politics, but of late Shivakumar has emerged as a prominent face in the Congress and his proximity to the top brass is well-known.

Ever since Shivakumar was appointed as Karnataka Congress president, a big question continues to haunt the party cadre and leaders of Congress as to who will be the party’s chief ministerial candidate in the next Assembly elections.

The party cadres and MLAs are divided between the Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah camps.