Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 29: Amidst the ongoing tussle over the Chief Minister’s post in Karnataka, the incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar signalled a truce, at least temporarily, with a new formula whose details are coming out in bits and pieces.
The truce was reached at a breakfast meeting held at the CM’s residence on Saturday morning at the instance of the Congress central leadership but the details will come out only after the party high command took a call and approved the formula in toto, the party sources said. The central leadership was in a hurry to resolve the Karnataka tussle ahead of the winter session of the State legislature beginning in Belagavi in north Karnataka from December 8.
After the meeting, both Mr Siddaramaiah and Mr Shivakumar jointly held a press conference putting up a show of unity and once again reiterated that they would abide by the Congress high command decision on the issue of leadership.
Mr Siddaramaiah also claimed that the reports of the tussle between him and Shivakumar was a “media creation.” He said a visit of some party MLAs close to the Deputy CM to Delhi on November 20, which was apparently aimed at lobbying for Shivakumar’s claim to the CM’s post with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, was a bid to seek ministerial positions for themselves in case of a Cabinet reshuffle.
Saturday’s breakfast meeting indicated that the leadership impasse is unlikely to be resolved decisively till the end of the winter session of the Legislature. The session would be held for two weeks from December 8. This would also provide some breathing space for the party’s high command to work out a strategy to handle the crisis peacefully.
The political analysts believe the optics of the breakfast meeting ensured that the Congress avoided making a scene out of the two leaders’ strained ties – and instead found a pressure release valve that safely defused the tension with a very strong likelihood of Shivakumar taking the top post in a smooth transition of power as soon as possible, which may stretched to March-April 2026.
The compromise formula, as it is being referred to by analysts, needs Shivakumar to keep calm and carry on as the deputy chief minister till the time the transition of power happens, sources said. In return and to make good on the word, more cabinet portfolios would go to Shivakumar’s loyalists and he would continue as the Karnataka Congress chief. Eventually, Siddaramaiah is expected to support Shivakumar’s leadership in 2028 when the election is due.
Shivakumar also can’t make haste due to the simple reason that he does not have the number on his side to launch an all-out coup. The Congress also knows unseating an experienced, senior leader like Siddaramaiah would hurt the party. Under these circumstances, Shivakumar probably has the best deal he could get, sources said.
The ‘compromise’ on the chief minister’s part has got something to do with the fact that Siddaramaiah knows he will not be chief minister forever, obviously. To this end, he already declared this would be his last term on the high table. He has already cemented his legacy and seems keen to keep it that way, to leave on a good note as one of the tallest leaders of Karnataka.
The Chief Minister said in the joint briefing, “We are united. There are no differences between me and Mr Shivakumar. We have decided to listen to whatever the high command says. There is no controversy from tomorrow… There is none now either. But a section of the media has created the confusion.” The breakfast meeting was held between two leaders following the direction from the party’s high command. MLA and Chief Minister’s legal adviser A.S. Ponnanna was also present.
The Chief Minister said the Opposition BJP’s decision to move a no-confidence motion against the government during the legislature session would be a “futile exercise.” “We have worked out a strategy to counter the Opposition BJP and JD (S) false allegations during the legislature session,” Mr Siddaramaiah said.
On the question of MLAs visiting Delhi, the Chief Minister said since he had announced the undertaking of the Cabinet reshuffle, legislators had gone to the national capital seeking ministerial berths for themselves with the party’s top brass. “MLAs have not spoken against the government,” he added.
“Just like we worked in the 2023 Assembly elections, we will work in the 2028 Assembly elections and ensure the party’s return to power. We have also discussed elections to rural and urban bodies in the future,” the Chief Minister said.
Echoing similar sentiments, Mr Shivakumar said, “We both worked together in the past and will work unitedly in the future too. We will abide by the high command’s decision…. There are no groups. The only group is Congress.” He further said, “Today I am very happy; today CM and I had a breakfast meeting. Our objective is to strengthen the Congress and the government to retain power in the 2028 Assembly elections.
“We know our party is in a difficult stage in our country. But still, we are confident that Karnataka will have a major role, and we will repeat the mandate in 2028.” He said they would have to work to get to power in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge. The Congress came to power in the State with a massive mandate, and “we work for fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Karnataka,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
The simmering conflict between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, which started in the wake of the Congress’s victory in the 2023 polls under their combined leadership, surfaced on November 20, when the Siddaramaiah-led government completed 2.5 years. Shivakumar then upped the ante to claim the CM’s post while obliquely referring to a “rotational CM” deal involving them and the Congress leadership. “Politically, our decision is to follow the directives of the Congress high command. We have no groupism and I have never believed in camps. We will work together,” Shivakumar told reporters.
The CM claimed that the state leadership issue was a “false flag” raised by the media. Siddaramaiah stressed that the breakfast meeting was a result of the Congress leadership’s intervention with party general secretary K C Venugopal calling both the CM and the DCM to ask them to hold a meeting ahead of the Legislature session.
Shivakumar said, “We are loyal party soldiers and are basically party workers. On Friday, he had said he was not in a hurry to become the CM, adding that “The party workers may be eager, but I am in no hurry. The party will take all the decisions.” Over the last week, Shivakumar has indicated that there was an unwritten agreement between him, Siddaramaiah and the Congress leadership for sharing of power for 2.5 years each, which was reached after the government was formed in May 2023. Siddaramaiah has rejected such suggestions of an agreement.
On Saturday, after the breakfast meeting, when Siddaramaiah was asked about this agreement, he said, “We have emphasised that we will abide by any decision of the party high command.” The Congress leadership has to take a decision on transition of power in Karnataka on account of Siddaramaiah turning 80 in 2028 and the party not likely to project him as the CM candidate in the next polls despite his stature as a mass leader having the support of the OBCs, Dalits and minorities across the state.
Shivakumar belongs to the dominant Vokkaliga community — which has traditionally allied with the Janata Dal (Secular) led by former PM H D Deve Gowda — has a smaller support base, which is restricted to southern Karnataka.
Party sources said while Shivakumar is keen to become the CM in early 2026 and present the state budget, his conditions for continuation of Siddaramaiah as the CM till then include a freeze on the Cabinet reshuffle, which the latter has been pushing for with Kharge and Rahul, party sources said. A Cabinet reshuffle is seen by the DCM as a sign of Siddaramaiah’s continuance as the CM for a tenure beyond 2026.
His other conditions include his continuance as the sole DCM, state Congress president and the Bengaluru minister with mega projects worth crores conceived under him are in the pipeline, and the post of the state milk federation president for his brother D K Suresh, sources said.
On his part, Siddaramaiah is keen to create a record for having the longest tenure as the Karnataka CM on January 7, when he will cross the seven years and 10 month tenure of former CM Devaraj Urs. He would cite this wish if pushed, sources said. Siddaramaiah is also keen on seeing through the current caste survey in the state and its implementation, which is one of the core issues taken up by Rahul Gandhi.
Congress sources said during the turmoil of the government formation in May 2023, a party leader had suggested that Shivakumar’s interests would be protected but there was no agreement involving the top Congress leaders like Rahul or Sonia Gandhi on power sharing. While Shivakumar has hinted at such an agreement frequently, Siddaramaiah has denied it even to close associates, sources said.