Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah appears to have challenged the authority of the Congress high command by not only asserting that he will continue in the post for the full term, but also claiming that he has the support of a majority of party MLAs.

Mr. Siddaramaiah’s repeated remarks are seen as an indication that the system of “rotation” for the Chief Minister’s post, said to be floated by the party high command, has remained a non-starter. It is also considered as a setback for Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar, who has been an aspirant ever since the party’s victory in 2023.

After Mr. Siddaramaiah’s remark, Mr. Shivakumar has for now declined to comment on the issues surrounding the Chief Minister’s post.

Triggers for CM

Mr. Shivakumar’s perceived clout with the high command and the one-to-one meetings of AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala with legislators to collect their opinions in two phases, at the behest of the KPCC chief, was the immediate trigger for Mr. Siddaramaiah’s assertion of his authority of not only completing the full term, but also leading the party in the 2028 Assembly polls.

The central leader’s intervention to solve the legislators’ complaints, largely on the release of funds, has reportedly disturbed Mr. Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio. The Chief Minister’s loyalist and Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna has openly expressed his displeasure on the one-to-one meetings of the MLAs with Mr. Surjewala.

Mr. Shivakumar’s plan to gain support from the legislators loyal to the Chief Minister by allegedly releasing grants from the Water Resources Department to them, and voices emerging from among MLAs projecting him as the next Chief Minister have not gone down well with Mr. Siddaramaiah’s camp.

The high command’s nudge to the Chief Minister on his remarks on the terror attack at Pahalgam and directive to him to scrap the Socio-Economic and Educational Survey (caste census) report earlier are seen to be at the behest of Mr. Shivakumar. These apparently embarrassed Mr. Siddaramaiah, a seasoned politician.

Earlier, using his clout with the central leaders, Mr. Shivakumar is believed to have achieved success in stopping the Dalit Ministers’ dinner meeting and renaming of the ‘Swabhimani Samavesha’ by the Chief Minister’s supporters as ‘Jana Kalyana Samavesha’ in Hassan last year. Apparently, these two decisions rattled the loyalists of Mr. Siddaramaiah.

Why circumspect

Knowing well that the other backward classes (OBC), Dalit, and Muslim vote bank is backing the Chief Minister, the high command is expected to buy more time, at least till the Bihar elections, to take a decision on the change of guard in the government as well as the KPCC.

Meanwhile, the Ministers and leaders loyal to Mr. Siddaramaiah appear to have become fully active. Party sources claimed that five Ministers rushed to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Bengaluru on Thursday seeking the replacement of Mr. Shivakumar as the KPCC chief in a move to checkmate the latter.

What political salvos Mr. Shivakumar, who has so far been measured in his responses, would fire in his battle for the Chief Minister’s post and at what point in time remains to be seen.