Mysore/Mysuru: In a telling moment amid the Congress leadership tussle, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who had flown together from Bengaluru to Mysuru to receive Rahul Gandhi, took separate routes on their return.

Though the official itinerary had both leaders scheduled to fly back to Bengaluru on the same special aircraft, Siddaramaiah boarded the flight alone before Rahul Gandhi’s departure to Delhi. Shivakumar, departing from the original plan, left the Airport, visited K.C. Layout on some work and later drove back to Bengaluru by road, sources said.

This divergence, following visible tension at the Airport earlier in the day, has further fuelled speculation of strain between the two senior Congress leaders. For political observers, Mysore Airport became a stage where the party’s internal power struggle played out in public view.