At least one or two Congress MPs have been vocal publicly every month since July, demanding that Shivakumar replace Siddaramaiah or that he will be promoted to the post before the end of the year.
Congress leader K K Sharma held the higher leadership of the party responsible for the election results alleging that they take decisions without consulting party workers and local leaders.
In a massive setback for the Congress leadership, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, a close aide of the Sonia Gandhi has decided not to contest fearing a loss amidst a serious internal rift within the Gujarat unit of the party.
The clash allegedly took place between the supporters of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and outgoing state unit president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu