As the factional feud in Karnataka Congress continues to simmer, state Congress leaders hope that a meeting in Delhi in the first week of January that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar will have with party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will put an end to the bickering.
This comes at a time when Shivakumar’s followers have once again claimed that the power transition will happen soon after Siddaramaiah surpasses D Devraj Urs as the state’s longest-serving CM in early January, while the CM has ruled out giving up his post. As the tussle shows no signs of abating despite multiple meetings between the state leaders and the high command over the past month, it has also brought to the fore tensions between Siddaramaiah and the Congress president.
Kharge weighed in on Sunday, blaming the state unit for the “confusion”. “How can you blame the high command for everything? You, the local leaders, should settle (these issues),” he said in Kalaburgi. On Monday, Siddaramaiah responded by saying Gandhi would decide on the leadership issue and that he “would abide by the LoPs decision”.
Even as the Congress’s national leadership appears to be evaluating which of the two contenders commands the support of a majority of the party’s 135 MLAs, the Siddaramaiah camp claims the CM has the backing of about 100 legislators, while the aides of Shivakumar say he has secured the support of nearly 60 MLAs over the past few months.
The recent bout of speculation, claims, and counter-claims was triggered last Saturday when Madhugiri MLA and former minister K N Rajanna met Shivakumar. Rajanna, a Siddaramaiah loyalist who was sacked from the Cabinet over his “vote chori” remarks, said after the meeting that he continued to support Siddaramaiah as CM.
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“You (the media) say he (Rajanna) is close to the CM, but he is close to me too. The CM and I are together. We are working like brothers,” Shivakumar said after the meeting.
The meeting came a day after the Winter Session of the legislature concluded in Belagavi, where Siddaramaiah twice asserted he would serve his full term as CM and that there was no power-sharing agreement with his deputy.
How things stand
Both camps feel strongly about their preferred choice to lead the administration and about who should steer the party into the 2028 Assembly elections. A first-time MLA, who was part of a delegation that travelled to Delhi last month, said a transition was essential to energise party ranks.
“We conveyed the need to make Shivakumar the CM, but the decision will be taken by the high command,” he said. Another Shivakumar loyalist claimed the Deputy CM could be elevated during the “upcoming Budget session in March, if not in January”.
A senior minister, seen as close to the high command, dismissed the speculation as a “media creation”. “At present, there is no discussion about it. If the issue comes up, there are many contenders for the CM’s post,” he said.
The Siddaramaiah camp appears confident about no change happening, given the social calculations. An MLA loyal to the CM pointed to the party’s “bitter experiences in the past” when abrupt changes were made.
“In the 1990s, the Congress’s sacking of CM Veerendra Patil turned the Lingayats against the party. There are apprehensions that the Kuruba community — among the most populous in the state — would be antagonised if Siddaramaiah were replaced without any basis,” the MLA said.
Questioning how Siddaramaiah would be “accommodated” if he were replaced, an MLC argued that such a move could prove “counter-productive” for the Congress in the 2028 elections.
Insiders said that despite Shivakumar’s persistent push for the CM’s chair, the party leadership had conveyed to him the challenges involved in replacing Siddaramaiah. “In the event of a compromise, Shivakumar is likely to continue as Deputy CM with key portfolios such as Bengaluru Development and Irrigation, while also retaining the post of Karnataka Congress president,” said a source.