After a lull, Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar camps again rock Karnataka Congress boat

DESPITE the intervention of the high command, the renewed churn in the Karnataka Congress shows no sign of subsiding. There have been private dinner meetings and open calls for appointment of a new PCC chief, marking a return to the rampant factionalism that dogged the state Congress prior to the 2023 Assembly polls.

The chain of developments began at the start of the new year, with 2025 conjectured to be the last with Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister, as per a purported ‘seat-sharing’ formula between him and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, under which the two were to hold power for two-and-a-half years each.

There has never been any official confirmation of this, though claims about the same keep popping up from the Shivakumar camp. Now, while Siddaramaiah’s supporters are trying to rally his camp to ensure that he completes his full term, Shivakumar’s are keeping the waters roiling. Sources said that recently Siddaramaiah took on Shivakumar directly, ruling out a change in the leadership. The Siddaramaiah camp has also mounted pressure seeking that Shivakumar step down as PCC chief as he is also a minister.

A fallout was seen at the Congress Legislature Party meeting held earlier this week, where Shivakumar and Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi, a close Siddaramaiah aide, clashed over the construction of a district Congress Committee office.