Mangaluru: A day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar projected a strong show of unity, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal was greeted with loud “DK, DK” chants at Mangaluru International Airport.

Congress workers who had gathered at the airport this morning to welcome Venugopal broke into slogans backing as soon as he stepped out of the terminal.

Venugopal arrived in Mangaluru to attend the centenary celebrations of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru, organised by Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, at the University campus in Konaje. The event was to be inaugurated by CM Siddaramaiah.

Pro-Siddu chants: Shortly after, when CM Siddaramaiah landed, his own supporters countered with slogans like “Siddu, Siddu, Poornaavadhi Siddu” (full-term CM Siddaramaiah), asserting that he should complete his five-year term until 2028.

This public display of factionalism occurred despite two recent breakfast meetings between the two leaders, where they had presented a show of unity and asserted that there were no divisions. The “war of optics,” as described by some reports, brought the internal speculation about a potential mid-term change in leadership out into the open.