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EYE ON INDIA DECEMBER 05, 2025 | The Indian Eye 6

Infighting Erupts in Karnataka

Congress, Threatening the Party’s

Last Big Fortress

A simmering power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister

DK Shivakumar has pushed Karnataka’s Congress government into a crisis moment, raising
fears over the stability of the party’s most crucial state

OUR BUREAU only major state, is treading cau-
tiously. Any shift in leadership could
Bengaluru / New Delhi
trigger internal rebellion. But leaving
he Congress government in the matter unresolved risks weaken-
Karnataka — the party’s larg- ing the government from the inside,
Test and most politically crucial creating fissures that the BJP — ea-
state — is facing its most turbulent ger to regain power — will exploit
moment since sweeping to power last relentlessly.
year. What began as quiet whispers For now, both Siddaramaiah and
about a power-sharing deal between Shivakumar are trying to sound obe-
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and dient and calm, repeating that they
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivaku- will “go to Delhi whenever asked”.
mar has now exploded into full-blown But their supporters tell a different
speculation, public posturing, and story: MLAs from both factions have
open lobbying, threatening to desta- already begun travelling to Delhi to
bilize the government at a time when lobby central leaders. Social media
Congress can least afford internal posts from Shivakumar hint at prom-
fractures. ises made and promises not kept.
Through the last week, Congress Siddaramaiah’s ministers insist the
leaders, MLAs and ministers have “people of Karnataka gave him a
been pulled into a vortex of compet- Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at the five-year mandate,” while Shivaku-
ing claims, factional pressures and recent release of Kannada version of book on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, written by mar’s camp says the time has come
murmurs that the party High Com- to “honor the agreement.”
mand may be preparing for a leader- Sonia Gandhi (ANI Photo) The Congress has long been
ship intervention. In Bengaluru, every plagued by factionalism, but in Kar-
political movement is now being read Rahul Gandhi, senior central lead- steady governance — Shivakumar’s nataka the stakes are higher. This
as a signal. Every remark is parsed ers, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. loyalists insist that a transition of is the party’s last big state. It is the
for meaning. And every silence is in- It was the clearest indication yet that power was always the plan, and that engine for the Congress’s national
terpreted as deepening uncertainty. the Congress leadership has taken delaying it would be a breach of trust. finances, organizational strength and
On Thursday, DK Shivakumar note of the rift — and that the matter The party’s troubles intensified political credibility. Losing Karnata-
— whose supporters have been push- is far from settled. on Wednesday, when senior MLA ka — or even appearing unstable —
ing aggressively for him to take over The crisis traces back to the and former minister KN Rajanna would be a severe setback for a party
the chief minister’s chair — attempt- 2023 “power-sharing arrangement” bluntly suggested dissolving the As- trying to rebuild itself.
ed to appear conciliatory. Standing between Siddaramaiah and Shiva- sembly and facing fresh elections un- As the weekends, the crisis re-
outside Vidhana Soudha, he said kumar, an understanding that Shi- der Shivakumar’s leadership. He later mains unresolved. The High Com-
he would travel to Delhi “whenever vakumar would take over as Chief retreated slightly, saying his “person- mand will soon summon both leaders
the High Command calls”, signal- Minister halfway through the term. al wish” was for Siddaramaiah to to Delhi, where a decision — wheth-
ling publicly that he would abide by While no Congress leader has pub- complete his term, before floating er continuity, transition, or compro-
whatever decision the central leader- licly acknowledged the agreement, another name — Home Minister mise — will shape not just the future
ship takes. “There is nothing there,” it remains widely believed within the G Parameshwara — as a possible of Karnataka but also the national
Shivakumar insisted, denying reports party — and it is Shivakumar’s claim consensus candidate. What Rajan- prospects of the Congress.
of an internal tussle. “Whatever the to that promise that is now destabiliz- na really did, however, was publicly For now, the party’s most im-
party says, we will work together.” ing the government. confirm what everyone in Karnataka portant government hangs in the
But the denials have done little Supporters of the two leaders already sensed: the Congress govern- balance, its future dependent on
to cool the air. Hours earlier, Con- have begun lobbying openly. While ment is deeply divided, and its lead- whether its two tallest leaders can
gress president Mallikarjun Kharge Siddaramaiah’s camp argues that he ers are working to position them- put unity above ambition — and
had said that a final decision on lead- has earned the mandate to complete selves if Delhi decides on a change. whether the High Command can
ership would be taken only after a a full five-year term — pointing to the The Congress High Command, contain a crisis that threatens to
collective discussion that included party’s strong welfare delivery and aware that Karnataka is the party’s erupt fully into the open.

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