On Thursday night, as the Congress government in Karnataka completed two-and-a-half years in power, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge found a handful of Karnataka Congress MLAs at his doorstep in New Delhi after returning from a dinner meeting with senior party leader Sonia Gandhi.
The group of seven to eight MLAs from among the party’s 135 MLAs in Karnataka, and a few MLCs, were all die hard supporters of Deputy CM and state Congress president D K Shivakumar, who has aspired for the Chief Minister’s post since the Congress came to power on May 20, 2023 under OBC leader Siddaramaiah, the party’s first choice for CM.
One of the important takeaways from the unannounced landing of the group of legislators — to ostensibly canvass for Shivakumar’s claim to the CM’s seat — is a confirmation that the Congress leadership is not going to rock the Karnataka leadership boat for a while, especially in the aftermath of the recent Bihar election loss for the Mahagathbandhan.
The visit of Shivakumar’s supporters to Delhi came shortly after a series of meetings Kharge had with Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, and the Deputy CM’s brother D K Suresh, in the aftermath of the Bihar results, where a message was conveyed to all to be patient on demands.
According to Congress sources, the high command asked Siddaramaiah to hold his horses on a proposal he broached on a Cabinet reshuffle that Shivakumar opposed if there was no simultaneous handover of the CM’s post. The Congress leadership has also stalled Shivakumar’s mid-term reach for the CM’s chair. A long-time demand of the CM’s group for a new state president — who could be the CM candidate for the 2028 state polls — has also been put on pause due to the disinclination of Shivakumar to quit.
The high command is learnt to be wary of political turmoil in the state if changes are carried out while it is on a weak wicket, and with multiple polls looming on the horizon in 2026, including the one in neighbouring Kerala of particular interest to the party.
Shivakumar, who has denied knowing the purpose of his supporters’ Delhi visit, has a lean support base among both people and party MLAs. He is, however, a wealthy and powerful minister who brooks little opposition and controls money-spinning portfolios such as Bengaluru development and water resources, apart from efficiently running the Congress state unit.
“I am not interested in taking any group to Delhi. I don’t believe in factionalism. The CM has said that he will carry out a Cabinet reshuffle and so some MLAs went to Delhi. I have not sent them to Delhi. They have gone on their own. What is wrong?” he said Friday.
Siddaramaiah, who turns 80 in 2028, in contrast, enjoys a large support and trust base both among the legislators and people as a socialist, pro OBC, Dalit and minorities leader. He has the support of several wealthy and prominent ministers in his Cabinet despite not being a highly wealthy leader himself.
The official confirmation of the status quo message from the Congress high command to the state leaders has come from Siddaramaiah himself. “I told the high command that a Cabinet reshuffle must be done after the government completes two and a half years. This has triggered speculations. Kharge has said he will discuss it with Rahul Gandhi,” he said Thursday.
Siddaramaiah is learnt to have been told by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to consult Kharge on the Cabinet reshuffle plan when it was briefly broached in New Delhi last week. Kharge has put the ball back in Gandhi’s court, Congress sources said.
The impasse is widely believed to be due to Shivakumar’s insistence that a mid-term reshuffle without a change of leadership will send out the signal that Siddaramaiah will continue in power till the end of the term.
“There is no November revolution. That is a creation of the media. We have been given five years and we will govern for five years. When elections are held, we will win again. Any discussion (on CM change) is unnecessary,” Siddaramaiah said in Chamarajanagar district, a region to which a superstition is attached of CMs losing power if they visit the area.
“Those who say that you will lose power if you visit Chamarajnagar should know that I have become stronger following visits to the district. I am strong now and will be strong going forward as well,” he added.
Where Shivakumar stands
Shivakumar has sent mixed messages on his bid for the CM’s post, appearing anxious through the actions of his supporters, while personally trying to be cool about it in public. “I am not in a hurry to occupy the CM’s chair. I am in politics to serve the people,” he said recently. This week, he also dropped hints of willingness to step down as state Congress chief, but did not indicate whether it is tied to his demand to be made the CM.
Even as Shivakumar has constantly pushed his case for ascending to the top post, Siddaramaiah has insisted that he will serve the full five years. On Friday, he said he would present the next state budget in March 2026. “It is the high command that will decide on changes in the government, whether it is a leadership change or a Cabinet reshuffle. Has the high command said anything about these things? Ultimately, any decision taken by the high command will be binding on me, D K Shivakumar, and everyone,” he said.
Even as Shivakumar’s supporters were in Delhi, a caucus of senior leaders from Dalit and tribal communities allied largely with the CM were at a dinner meeting at the home of senior Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi, a close Siddaramaiah aide and the Deputy CM’s challenger for the post of state Congress president.
“They have been holding dinner meetings for the last two and a half years, demanding more Deputy CMs and a change of state Congress president. Let them organise more dinner meetings,” Shivakumar said when asked about the meeting.
Of the 51 seats reserved for Dalits and tribals (36 for SCs and 15 for STs), the Congress won 36 seats (21 SCs and 14 STs) in 2023. Given the large contingent of Dalit and ST Congress MLAs, they are likely to play a significant role in any decision in the Congress Legislature Party.
Kharge is learnt to have spoken pleasantly for 10 minutes to the MLAs — H D Ranganath, T D Rajegowda, Iqbal Hussain, S R Srinivas, Anekal Shivanna, N Srinivas, Shivaganga Basavaraj, MLC S Ravi and others — on the portico of his Rajaji Marg house on Thursday night before sending them off with the message that they could meet him when he is in Bengaluru later this week.
Even as this tug-of-war played out, the Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, warned MLAs to stay in line and not disrupt governance.
“Had a discussion with Karnataka CM and Deputy CM and they agreed that a decisively defeated and faction-ridden Karnataka BJP, along with a section of the media, are designedly running a maligning campaign against Karnataka and its Congress Government,” Surjewala wrote on social media on Friday.
“The needless statements of some Congress leaders and MLAs have also added to the speculation. INC has sternly warned them from making any public statements on the issue of leadership or falling for the agenda being propagated by the vested interests. The opinion of various party functionaries has been taken note of by the leadership,” he said.