Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge confirms Sonia and Rahul Gandhi will decide the fate of the Karnataka CM post amid the power tussle between Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar (DKS) over the 2.5-year deal.
Kharge Sonia Rahul Gandhi Karnataka CM Decision
The political uncertainty over the Karnataka Chief Minister post has reached a decisive juncture, with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge formally acknowledging the intensifying power tussle between incumbent CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar (DKS). In a significant statement today, Kharge firmly declared that the decision to resolve the ongoing crisis would be taken collectively by the party’s central leadership, or “high command”—specifically, himself, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi.
This statement provides clarity on the decision-making process, confirming that the fate of the Karnataka government’s leadership rests at the very top of the AICC hierarchy. It comes amid renewed speculation over a purported power sharing agreement that allegedly promised the top post to DKS after the government completed half of its five-year term, a milestone it hit recently.
The internal conflict within the Karnataka Congress has been simmering since the party’s massive victory in the 2023 Assembly polls. While the leadership managed to broker a fragile peace by appointing Siddaramaiah as CM and Shivakumar as his deputy and state party chief, rumors of a rotational CM formula never subsided. These rumors gained fresh momentum as the government crossed the 2.5-year mark.
The speculation escalated into a public crisis when a group of DKS loyalist MLAs recently travelled to New Delhi. Their mission was clear: to appeal directly to the Congress high command to honor the alleged pact and elevate Shivakumar to the Chief Minister’s chair. This move, which circumvented the state unit, confirmed the deep-seated friction between the two prominent leaders.
