The Karnataka Congress Leadership Tussle Latest Update: CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar engage in a second round of ‘breakfast diplomacy’ to project unity. Analyze the political friction, the alleged power-sharing agreement, and what the Congress High Command is planning for the state’s leadership.
Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar Tussle
The political drama unfolding in Karnataka Congress has once again been temporarily calmed by a carefully orchestrated event: a reciprocal breakfast meeting between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Deputy, D.K. Shivakumar (DKS). The CM’s visit to his deputy’s residence signals a determined push by the party’s central leadership—the powerful Congress High Command—to enforce an image of cohesion and teamwork. This second high-profile parley follows closely on the heels of the initial unity breakfast hosted by the Chief Minister at his own residence just days prior.
The necessity for these visible displays of political diplomacy is rooted in the simmering and highly public Karnataka Congress leadership tussle. The friction intensified significantly after the ruling government crossed the halfway mark of its five-year term, reviving intense speculation and pressure concerning an alleged 2.5-year power-sharing agreement. Supporters of the influential D.K. Shivakumar have been vocal in their demand for his elevation to the top post, citing what they claim was a mutual understanding reached after the party’s successful 2023 Assembly election victory. Conversely, the Siddaramaiah camp firmly maintains that the mandate was for a complete five-year term, dismissing any talk of a rotational CM formula as media-created confusion.
