The deputy CM additional wrote, “The CM has determined to reshuffle the cupboard. Everybody needs to grow to be a minister, so it’s only pure that they meet the management in Delhi. It’s their proper. We can’t cease them and say no. The CM has mentioned that he’ll full his five-year time period. I want him all one of the best. We’ll all work with him…”
All 140 MLAs are my MLAs. Forming teams shouldn’t be in my blood.
The CM has determined to reshuffle the cupboard. Everybody needs to grow to be a minister, so assembly leaders in Delhi is kind of pure.
it is their proper. We won’t cease them and say no.That is what the industrial mentioned… pic.twitter.com/XSZ1ZiqXC8
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) November 21, 2025
Nevertheless, folks conscious of the event counsel that Mr Siddaramaiah was by no means fearful about being changed from the start.
The 77-year-old prime minister believes his place will solely strengthen because the excessive command is unlikely to vary something anytime quickly.
Up to now, Mr. Siddaramaiah has purchased time by proposing a cupboard reshuffle that may deliver in additional than a dozen new faces, whereas urging the highest management to postpone discussions on the altering of the guard for a number of months, Congress sources mentioned.
On January 6, Siddaramaiah will grow to be Karnataka’s longest-serving chief minister, overtaking Devaraj Urs’ document of 45 years. Urs served as prime minister for 2 phrases, from 1972 to 1977 and from 1978 to 1980, for a complete of two,790 days.
“The information of revolution and management change is fabricated by the media. I’ve informed the excessive command that there might be a (cupboard) reshuffle in two-and-a-half years, and that’s the reason these (management change) talks are being held,” Siddaramaiah informed reporters on Thursday.
He added that such discussions had been “pointless”.
By the way, Siddaramaiah visited Chamarajanagar on Thursday in an effort to dispel the parable {that a} chief minister who visits the south-west district loses energy.
“It’s a superstition that if you happen to come to Chamarajanagar you’ll lose your energy. I got here right here to dispel that superstition. I mentioned that my energy is secure now and sooner or later,” he mentioned.
Early on Friday morning, Congress basic secretary Randeep Singh Srejwala wrote in X that he had met Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, and so they agreed that “the decisively defeated and factionalist Karnataka Heart Social gathering and a few sections of the media” had been waging a “deliberate” marketing campaign to malign the Karnataka Congress authorities with the goal of tarnishing its efficiency.
Surjewala added that the get together had given a “stern warning” to some Congress leaders and MLAs to not converse publicly on management points or to “be fooled by the agenda propagated by vested pursuits”.
We held discussions with the Karnataka CM and appearing CM and agreed that the decisively defeated and faction-obsessed Karnataka BJP and a few sections of the media are intentionally waging a smear marketing campaign towards Karnataka and the Congress authorities.
The one thought…
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) November 21, 2025
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unwritten settlement
Analysts say the get together is unlikely to switch the Siddaramaiah authorities at this level as Karnataka is among the few steady Congress governments.
Furthermore, changing Siddaramaiah dangers shedding the get together’s backward-class base and the political stability within the state may even be disrupted.
With election defeats in Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and a diminished presence in states similar to West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the get together excessive command won’t rush into any resolution that might jeopardize certainly one of its final remaining strongholds.
Since then, there has not been any discuss of a management change, with supporters making arguments for and towards each Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
When the Congress stormed to energy in Might 2023, the get together excessive command is believed to have brokered a deal between Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar to interrupt the deadlock. The tacit settlement was that the 2 leaders would take turns as CM, with Mr. Shivakumar changing Mr. Siddaramaiah on the midway level.
Mr. Siddaramaiah was sworn in as CM on Might 20, 2023, and Mr. Shivakumar turned his sole deputy whereas retaining the submit of state Congress unit chief.
“Integration of backward lessons”
Analysts say a management change can also be unlikely attributable to Karnataka’s caste dynamics.
For many years, politics in Karnataka has been dominated by Lingayats and Vokkaligas.
Solely one of many 23 chief ministers within the state’s historical past Seven They’re from communities aside from Lingayat and Vokkaliga. of Seven—Urus, Gundu Rao, Ramakrishna Hegde, S. Bangarappa, Dharam Singh Veerappa Moily and Siddaramaiah – solely Hegde was from a celebration aside from the Congress.
Three had been from Backwards, Bangarappa from Ediga, Moily from Devavinity group and Siddaramaiah Hals from Kuraba group.
Siddaramaiah, like Urs, has put Ahinda (a Kannada acronym for minorities, backward lessons, Dalits) and different oppressed lessons on the heart of his politics.
he Earlier this 12 months, he additionally turned the top of AICC’s OBC advisory committee.
“Rahul Gandhi has constructed his politics round social justice and OBCs on the nationwide degree. This may occasionally not have labored in Bihar, however particularly in Karnataka, the place a big part of minorities and SC/ST communities nonetheless stay within the Congress,” A. Narayana, a Bengaluru-based political analyst and school member at Azim Premji College (APU), informed ThePrint.
The analyst added that the one weak spot is the fragmented OBC block, a few of which help or are drawn to different events, and solely somebody like Siddaramaiah can cease this.
The CM additionally commissioned a caste census aimed toward difficult the domination loved by sure communities and rising reservations for socially, economically and politically backward sections.
Mr Siddaramaiah’s successor is prone to ship the incorrect message because the BJP and its associates are actively reaching out to the oppressed lessons, analysts added.
Siddaramaiah, not less than for now, is main the cost for a lot of the OBC group and his removing is prone to harm the Congress, Narayana added.
Siddaramaiah’s affiliation with the continued socio-economic and academic survey, or ‘caste census’, has positioned him as a champion of the backward lessons in a political panorama dominated by Lingayat and Vokkaliga tribes.
At an occasion to unveil a statue of former Backward Lessons Fee chairman LG Khabanur this week, Siddaramaiah mirrored on his battle towards caste discrimination and his personal struggles.
He informed how he stood up for the rights of the oppressed lessons when casteist remarks had been made towards him or in his presence. “We thought that training would get rid of the caste system. Immediately, the literacy fee is 78 p.c, however 78 years after independence, the caste system nonetheless exists. It has been there for the reason that time of Buddha and Basavanna.”
“Our social system has no path. Those that profit from the caste system are strengthened. We’re not out of the slave mentality,” Siddaramaiah added.
He has been a powerful advocate of “self-respect” amongst oppressed lessons, opposed the disproportionate advantages loved by dominant communities, and even determined in 2018 to grant spiritual minority standing to Lingayats.
Caste performs an simple position within the political and social panorama of Karnataka. It’s extensively believed that the Lingayat faction primarily helps the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering, whereas the Vokkaliga faction helps the JD(S) led by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
The Congress depends on backward lessons, Dalits and minorities, and Siddaramaiah has grow to be the face of the caste coalition.
Changing leaders from backward lessons with these from dominant communities would solely be counterintuitive, observers argue, as there isn’t any assure that they’ll stay within the get together in future elections.
In the meantime, Mr. Shivakumar, who hails from the dominant Vokkaliga group, has overtly advocated for the abolition of the sooner caste census, resolutely responding to the decision from the Vokkaliga group to unite and maintain its floor in Karnataka’s complicated caste dynamics.
Lots of Karnataka’s well-liked welfare schemes are strongly linked to Siddaramaiah, be it the ‘Bhagya’ model of welfare within the first time period (2013-2018) or the present ‘assure’, reversing the political tide at this level could also be dangerous.
Siddaramaiah has additionally offered 16 budgets and has the status of being an skilled administrator.
“The place is the problem when there are such a lot of issues associated to Siddaramaiah and the rival candidates don’t have anything to counter this,” mentioned a senior Congress chief on situation of anonymity.
Additionally learn: Siddaramaiah’s push to incorporate Kurvas in ST fold disrupts Karnataka’s complicated caste dynamics
“Collapse of equilibrium”
Since 2023, many Congress members have overtly supported Siddaramaiah and claimed that he’s irreplaceable.
All MLAs and leaders who help Shivakumar are supporting Siddaramaiah. A lot of this help comes from individuals who joined the Lok Sabha from the Janata Dal (secular) or JD(S) in 2006 and are actually in key positions.
“There was by no means a time when Mr. Siddaramaiah was not given the very best doable place. The excessive command neglected a number of strongmen and appointed him as Chief of Opposition (LoP) in 2008 and once more in 2019, then turned CM twice and even promoted him to Congress Working Committee (CWC) when he was ousted in 2018,” mentioned one Congress chief on situation of anonymity.
When Siddaramaiah entered the Congress, he was adopted by former chief minister Dharam Singh within the LoP, adopted by Mallikarjun Kharge, who was extensively believed to be the “subsequent CM” if the get together returns to energy.
Siddaramaiah’s entry and regular rise within the get together has led to the neglect of a number of senior leaders.
In 2008, Siddaramaiah was appointed because the LoP changing Kharge, who turned to nationwide politics within the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Mr Kharge is the nationwide chief of the Congress get together, however it’s extensively believed that Mr Siddaramaiah couldn’t have been given the chief minister’s submit as he loved robust help amongst MPs.
Analysts and get together leaders argue that Mr. Siddaramaiah is the one one who could be a mass chief within the Congress, whereas Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Kharge’s affect is restricted to particular geographical areas.
Narayana mentioned a collection of defeats in different state assemblies has made it tough for the Congress to shake certainly one of its strongholds.
“Why would the excessive command select an unstable equilibrium on the expense of a steady one, particularly when his (Rahul Gandhi) efficiency is so poor throughout the nation?” he added.
A senior parliamentary chief and cupboard minister mentioned a change in management would “upend” the get together’s political panorama.
Whereas Shivakumar’s camp claims that MLAs will “go alongside” if the excessive command declares a change in management, analysts warn that such a transfer would solely create room for dissatisfied components and profit the opposition events – the BJP and JD(S).
They added that many of those Congress MLAs are regional satraps who depend on their private potential to win fairly than get together symbols, leaving them open to defection if they’re pressured to work underneath incompatible leaders.
“There isn’t any foundation for the declare.”
One of many circumstances that Shivakumar reportedly offered to the excessive command in Might 2023 was to win two vital portfolios – Bengaluru improvement and irrigation, and to stay as KPCC chief and grow to be Karnataka’s solely deputy CM.
The excessive command responded by handing Shivakumar the keys to certainly one of India’s most talked-about cities.
Lengthy earlier than Mr. Shivakumar took over, Bangalore had a status for poor and insufficient infrastructure, and far of the blame for failing to not less than tackle that problem lay with the deputy chief minister.
Mr. Shivakumar has usually been focused for proposing big-ticket initiatives like tunnel roads, sky decks and different vainness initiatives as a substitute of bettering the town’s potholed roads, rubbish mismanagement and infamous visitors.
He in contrast the CEO of a city-based start-up firm expressing infrastructure-related grievances to “intimidation” and dismissed issues in regards to the metropolis’s roads raised in a viral video by three younger college students at his faculty as “all politics.”
Business leaders like Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Mohandas Pai have expressed concern about Bengaluru’s crumbling infrastructure issues and have put stress on the state authorities to make enhancements and supply fundamentals.
The poor high quality of public infrastructure can also be getting used as a clarion name by neighboring states to lure companies away from Bengaluru.
A pacesetter mentioned Mr. Shivakumar lacks a powerful observe document in his portfolio and isn’t thought of the undisputed chief of the Vokkaliga group, additional weakened by the defeat of his brother DK Suresh within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the dearth of a written settlement to make him the CM.
Furthermore, Shivakumar’s singing of the RSS nationwide anthem within the state meeting in August left the Congress red-faced and provoked sharp criticism from the get together’s core base, which has been battling Sangh ideology.
In distinction, Siddaramaiah’s stand is according to Rahul Gandhi’s who has taken up the RSS and accused it of caste prejudice, particularly in coastal Karnataka.
Political commentators added that the cash laundering allegations towards Shivakumar, making him one of many richest MLAs within the nation, forged a shadow over any claims made by him.
Shivakumar led the Congress to a landslide victory in 2023 as get together president, however there isn’t any precedent for a KPCC chairman to mechanically grow to be CM.
Solely SM Krishna, who was the KPCC president, and Veerendra Patil turned CMs after profitable the elections. In Siddaramaiah’s case, he was CM twice, however on neither event was he the KPCC chairman.
One chief mentioned his reward as chief of the Democratic Individuals’s Republic of Korea ought to have been earned in 2023 as a substitute of three years later.
“Everybody has that need. His (Shivakumar’s) followers are praying for it, however we’re working throughout the get together framework. The CM and deputy CM need to comply with the get together pointers,” Suresh informed reporters on Thursday.
“These choices might be taken on the highest degree of the get together. The submit of CM shouldn’t be vacant now. If any resolution is taken, the excessive command will undertake it,” he added.
Some folks help rewarding Shivakumar’s loyalty to the Congress and Gandhi.
However analysts say whether or not loyalty might be rewarded will rely upon staying in energy. In any other case, the get together could face related organizational nightmares in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
(Edited by Sague Kitty)
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