The long-standing power struggle for the top post in Karnataka has reportedly reached its final stage. According to party sources, the Congress central leadership has unanimously backed Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s claim for the chief ministerial post. The high command has offered a Rajya Sabha seat to the current Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, requesting him to play a more prominent and strategic role at the national level from Delhi. While Siddaramaiah has reportedly sought some time to take a final call on the offer, sources emphasize that he is highly likely to step down from his post within the next two to three days.
The leadership transition issue had been simmering for over a year, intensifying significantly last November when the promised two-and-a-half-year rotation threshold approached. Supporters of DK Shivakumar have consistently maintained that the high command had firmly promised a rotational chief ministership policy when forming the government after the 2023 assembly election victory. They noted that Shivakumar initially agreed to accept the deputy chief minister post only after receiving a concrete assurance that the leadership reins would be handed over to him mid-term.
To resolve the internal political situation, the Congress high command held a marathon six-hour-long meeting on Tuesday morning. Attempting to downplay the ongoing media speculation regarding an immediate change of guard, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal issued a brief statement asserting that the top-level meeting was strictly convened to finalize candidates for the state’s three upcoming Rajya Sabha seats and MLC elections. Despite the party’s official stance to dismiss leadership transition talks as rumors, internal sources reiterate that the high command has completely agreed on transferring the state administration’s leadership to DK Shivakumar.
