While a change in the chief ministership appears unlikely for now, once the chatter around the so-called “November revolution” subsides, attention is expected to turn to the next generation of leaders who could shape the post-Siddaramaiah era.
Published Nov 15, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 15, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Talk of a potential power-sharing arrangement between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah dates back to the aftermath of the 2023 Assembly elections.
Synopsis: As the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka reaches the halfway point of its tenure, questions over a potential change of guard have renewed focus on the party’s leadership in a post-Siddaramaiah era. South First looks at a new generation of leaders who could be pivotal to the party’s future in the southern state.
The Congress government in Karnataka, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, will reach the halfway point of its tenure on 20 November.
In recent months, speculation over leadership has intensified, with several Congress leaders—particularly those aligned with either Siddaramaiah or Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar—publicly backing their respective camps for the chief minister’s post.
Talk of a potential power-sharing arrangement between the two dates back to the aftermath of the 2023 Assembly elections, when reports suggested that a “rotational chief minister” formula had been agreed upon, under which Shivakumar would take over midway through the term.
However, the Congress has never officially confirmed such an agreement. Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have consistently dismissed these claims, maintaining that any decision on leadership rests solely with the party high command.
While a change in the chief ministership appears unlikely for now, once the chatter around the so-called “November revolution” subsides, attention is expected to turn to the next generation of leaders who could shape the post-Siddaramaiah era.
As the government reaches its halfway mark, South First looks at some of these leaders who could define the Grand Old Party’s future in its southern bastion.
Priyank Kharge
The son and political heir of All India Congress Committee (AICC) President Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyank began his political journey in 1998 through the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).
He entered the Karnataka Assembly in 2013, representing the Chittapur constituency in Kalaburagi. Three years later, he was inducted into Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet at the age of 38.
Over the years, he has held significant portfolios, including the Social Welfare Department in the HD Kumaraswamy-led Congress–Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] coalition government, followed by the Rural Development Department from 2023.
Known for his sharp rhetoric, Kharge has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), within the state Congress unit. Priyank has demonstrated his ideological clarity, something several Congress leaders often shy away from, without any hesitation.
The most recent example came in a letter to Siddaramaiah, urging a comprehensive ban on RSS “shakhas”, “sanghiks” (gatherings), and “baithaks” (meetings) across government premises – including schools, aided institutions, public parks, playgrounds, Muzrai Department temples, and archaeological sites.
Following this, the state government issued an order regulating the use of public properties by private organisations. However, the Karnataka High Court has stayed the order for now.
Kharge received vile abuses and threats after his call for the ban. Yet, the 47-year-old leader remains undeterred, continuing to publicly criticise the Sangh through media interviews and on social media.
Satish Jarkiholi
Once with the JD(S), Satish Jarkiholi—popularly known as “Sahukar”—joined the Congress in 2008. He is one of five politically influential brothers who continue to wield considerable political and economic influence in Belagavi district.
A member of the Nayak-Valmiki Scheduled Tribe community, Jarkiholi has steadily risen through the party ranks and has served as a minister at least three times.
The Congress MLA from Yemkanmardi, who also founded the Manava Bandhutva Vedike organisation to oppose superstition, is widely known for his anti-superstition activism.
Ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, Jarkiholi said that if there was Rahu Kaal—considered an inauspicious period—between 13 and 20 April, he would file his nomination papers during one of those days. He also announced that he would launch his election campaign from a graveyard.
He is known, too, for spending nights in graveyards on 6 December every year—the death anniversary of BR Ambedkar—as a symbolic act to challenge superstitions that evil spirits reside there.
Ahead of the government’s halfway mark, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra publicly backed Jarkiholi as a potential next chief minister. He said his father was in the “fag end” of his political career and described the Public Works Minister as a leader with similarly progressive and ideological thinking.
Krishna Byre Gowda, son of C Byre Gowda—a long-serving MLA who also held ministerial portfolios in Karnataka—was first elected to the Assembly in 2003, becoming one of its youngest members at the age of 30.
Krishna Byre Gowda
He won the by-election to fill his late father’s seat from Vemagal in Kolar. Between 2007 and 2011, he served as the state Youth Congress president.
At the time, he was often seen alongside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and had even driven him around in an SUV during a visit to rural Karnataka.
Seen as one of the Congress’s prominent faces from the dominant Vokkaliga community, Gowda has been an early adopter of social media as a political tool, using it since 2009 to connect with voters. That year, he launched one of the state’s earliest social media campaigns, Coffee With KBG, which featured informal meetings with constituents.
In the same year, he was fielded at the last minute from a constituency in southern Bengaluru, where he contested against the formidable four-term BJP MP Ananth Kumar.
Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gowda appeared at a flash mob in Bengaluru’s Orion Mall. Volunteers supporting him—then contesting against Union Minister and incumbent MP Sadananda Gowda of the BJP—performed a dance holding placards that read “vote wisely” and “with you, for you.”
I was “happy” to connect with young voters at Orion Mall this evening during the flashmob organised by my volunteers, Choose to have a happy future by voting wisely. Make a conscious choice, make the right choice. Choose the right candidate for you#VoteWisely #KBGforBLRNorth pic.twitter.com/BG5fsoNvhx
— Krishna Byre Gowda (@krishnabgowda) April 7, 2019
Although he lost that election, Gowda has continued to use social media for both constituency outreach and broader political messaging.
A loyalist of Siddaramaiah, Gowda recently said that he would resign from the Cabinet if the Congress high command asked him to do so.
Anjali Nimbalkar
Anjali Nimbalkar, a doctor by profession, made her electoral debut in 2018 by defeating the BJP’s Vittal Halagekar from the Khanapur constituency in Belagavi district.
It was the first time the Congress had won Khanapur since the inaugural Assembly election in 1957. Nimbalkar represented the constituency until 2023.
During her tenure, she raised several issues related to public service and governance. For instance, she protested the salary hike for ministers in Karnataka, arguing that the funds should instead be directed towards public welfare.
In 2021, she led the Suvarna Soudha Chalo Padayatra from Khanapur to protest what she described as the Karnataka government’s neglect of the backward taluk under the then BJP administration. Siddaramaiah joined her rally in solidarity.
She also established the Anjali Tai Foundation—“Tai” meaning elder sister in Marathi, as the women of Khanapur fondly call her—to work for the empowerment of marginalised communities, rural students, and women through self-help groups.
Our bag distribution through #DrAnjaliTai foundation continues to first & second standard school kids of Khanapur taluka.
The smile on their faces and the love & affection, gives me the strength to work more for them.Thank you beta, Love you all 🤗😘🥰❤️❤️❤️#khanapur… pic.twitter.com/RBm5Qp13ms
— Dr. Anjali Hemant Nimbalkar (@DrAnjaliTai) June 21, 2024
Drawing on her professional background in gynaecology and obstetrics, Nimbalkar has also conducted seminars for women in her constituency on menstrual hygiene.
Saleem Ahmed
Beginning his career in student politics in 1982, Saleem Ahmed went on to hold key positions such as National President of the NSUI and General Secretary of the Indian Youth Congress.
He was first elected to the Legislative Council in 1996 and is currently serving his second term as Chief Whip in the Assembly.
Ahmed has also served as Director of the Nehru Youth Centre Organisation, Additional Special Representative of the Karnataka government in New Delhi, and Secretary in charge of the All India Congress Committee in Telangana.
A strong advocate for minority representation within the party, he has remained an active organisational voice for inclusion. In 2021, Ahmed won the biennial election to the Karnataka Legislative Council from Dharwad, defeating sitting BJP MLC Pradeep Shettar.
Rizwan Arshad’s entry into politics began during his student days – from serving as General Secretary of the Karnataka unit of the NSUI in 1998 to becoming the first elected president of the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress in 2011.
During the Youth Congress election, Arshad was pitted against DK Shivakumar-backed nominee BV Srinivas, alongside Priyank Kharge and others. He later served as National Secretary of the Indian Youth Congress before entering the electoral fray in 2014.
That year, he contested the Lok Sabha election from Bangalore Central but lost to the BJP’s PC Mohan. He was elected as a Member of the Legislative Council in 2016. His first electoral victory came in 2019, when he won from the Shivajinagar Assembly constituency in Bengaluru – a seat he continues to hold.
Arshad also played a leading role in opposing the deletion of nearly 9,000 voter names—most of them belonging to minority communities—from the Shivajinagar constituency’s electoral rolls ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
Srinivas Mane
Srinivas Mane has served as the MLA for the Hangal constituency in Karnataka since 2021. His elevation from the Legislative Council to the Assembly came through a bypoll win in Hangal on 2 November 2021 – a seat previously held by senior leader CM Udasi.
The bypoll was held in the home district of then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who camped in the constituency for a week and led several campaigning efforts on behalf of the BJP candidate, Shivaraj Sajjanar.
Mane’s victory—particularly at a time when the BJP was in power in the state—was attributed not only to party backing but also to his strong local presence. His extensive relief work during the COVID-19 pandemic, including food distribution and arranging oxygen and medical resources, helped him build considerable goodwill among voters.
He was Siddaramaiah’s preferred candidate and received his full support during the campaign. Bommai himself acknowledged that Mane’s local outreach had contributed to the consolidation of votes.
Before his Assembly tenure, Mane served as a Member of the Legislative Council representing the Dharwad Local Authorities constituency from January 2010 to November 2021.
Mansoor Ali Khan
Mansoor Ali Khan, son of former Union Minister K Rahman Khan, has held several key organisational roles in the Congress, including AICC Secretary for Kerala and Lakshadweep and General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.
Outside politics, he is a prominent educationist and entrepreneur, heading a network of reputed institutions such as Delhi Public School and the School of India. A strong advocate of affordable and quality education, Khan has consistently emphasised the need to make learning more accessible to students across Karnataka.
In 2022, he was fielded as the Congress candidate for the Rajya Sabha biennial elections from Karnataka. On the eve of the polls, Siddaramaiah appealed to JD(S) MLAs to cast their “conscience votes” for Khan, describing his victory as symbolic of the “secular ideology” shared by both parties. Despite the endorsement, Khan lost the election.
Two years later, during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Khan stood out as the only Muslim candidate from any major political party in Karnataka. Contesting from Bengaluru Central against the BJP’s three-term MP PC Mohan, Khan was defeated, though the constituency later drew attention over allegations of voter fraud.
Since then, he has emerged as one of the Congress’s most visible voices in its confrontation with the Election Commission of India and the BJP over the issue of “vote chori”.
Roopakala Shashidhar
Roopakala Shashidhar, daughter of former Union Minister and seven-time parliamentarian KH Muniyappa, has represented the Kolar Assembly constituency since 2018. Her father had won the Kolar Lok Sabha seat successively seven times, until 2019.
In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, she contested again from Kolar and secured a resounding victory, defeating her BJP rival by over 50,000 votes – a margin widely described as historic.
Her election was also notable as she was among six Dalit women MLAs elected to the Assembly that year. In January 2024, she was appointed Chairperson of the Karnataka Handicrafts Industrial Development Corporation.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
