Kunigal MLA HD Ranganath and former Mandya MP LR Shivarame Gowda were served notices for claiming in public that Shivakumar will replace Siddaramaiah as the chief minister.
Published Oct 03, 2025 | 5:23 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 03, 2025 | 5:23 PM
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with Dy CM DK Shivakumar. (CMOKarnataka/ X)
Synopsis: The Congress leadership has repeatedly refuted speculations of an understanding to share chief ministership with DK Shivakumar. However, a section of party leaders loyal to Shivakumar is certain that a change is in the pipeline. The party has so far sought to silence such views.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, have repeatedly downplayed speculations of a power-sharing between the two.
However, MLAs loyal to the Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC President, Shivakumar, firmly believe that a change in chief ministership is in the offing.
Though MLAs and party leaders who aired their belief in public were served show-cause notices in the past, it has not deterred more Shivakumar loyalists from predicting a change in leadership. Kunigal MLA HD Ranganath and former Mandya MP LR Shivarame Gowda were the latest in the line.
Over the past two days, both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar downplayed speculations of a power-sharing arrangement between the two as the Congress government’s term in the state neared its halfway mark.
“No one has the right to talk of power sharing. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has already clarified the matter,” Shivakumar categorically stated on Thursday, 2 October.
His statement came a day after Siddaramaiah asserted that he would complete the remaining 2.5 years of his term. “They (the Opposition) had said it would not be possible for me to become chief minister for the second time or present the Budget. Yet, I have continued as chief minister for the second time and presented the Budget,” he said.
However, both leaders reiterated that they would follow the high command’s decision.
On 22 September, MLA Ranganath had termed Shivakumar a “rising star” and a “pan-India leader”. He also expressed hope to see his “political guru” become the chief minister one day. Gowda claimed that “there was no doubt” about Shivakumar becoming the chief minister.
Both leaders were served show-cause notices on Thursday.
The Congress’s disciplinary committee had cracked the whip on its leaders for expressing support for Shivakumar to take over the chief minister’s mantle.
Since July, at least four Congress MLAs — Iqbal Hussain, Basavaraju Shivaganga, HD Ranganath, and LR Shivarame Gowda – have faced action after openly backing Shivakumar, drawing sharp disapproval from the deputy chief minister himself.
Ramanagara MLA Hussain was the first to get a notice for raising the leadership change issue.
“You all know what our (Congress’s) strength was before this government came to power. Everyone knows who put in the struggle, sweat, effort, and interest to achieve this victory. His (Shivakumar’s) strategy and programmes are history now,” Hussain had told reporters, when asked about Shivakumar’s chance to become the chief minister.
Hussain had then sworn on Mahadevappa (Lord Shiva), saying Shivakumar would “200 percent become the chief minister”. KPCC president Shivakumar issued Hussain a notice in July 2025.
Shivakumar had warned his party leaders not to make public statements on leadership change. “Siddaramaiah is the chief minister and we all should strengthen his hands,” he had then said.
Although a notice was issued to Hussain, stating that his statements caused confusion and embarrassment to the party, the Shivakumar loyalist continued to make similar public statements.
“I stand by my statement. I need the change, and in the future, Congress should come to power,” Hussain said, even after receiving notice.
Another MLA, Basavaraju Shivaganga, in August, claimed that Shivakumar would become the chief minister in December 2025. The deputy chief minister came down strongly on the MLA, stating that his remarks were in “violation of party discipline.” He, too, was issued a notice.
Ever since the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government came to power in May 2023, speculations have been rife about a power-sharing arrangement between him and Shivakumar. While the party has never confirmed such an agreement, certain statements by Shivakumar further fuelled the speculation.
In July 2025, while speaking at the Kempegowda Jayanti celebrations hosted by the Bangalore Bar Association, Shivakumar made a tongue-in-cheek remark about how one should always seize the opportunity to sit.
“I see many lawyers here who are not sitting despite the availability of vacant chairs, while we are all scrambling to find one. Getting a chair is not easy. When you get the opportunity, you must sit and not let go of the chance,” he said.
Although the statement was directed towards the lawyers present at the event, the remark was widely interpreted as a subtle political message about his desire to become the chief minister.
Similarly, in August 2025, Shivakumar made another remark about how “many don’t agree to share power,” while speaking at a conference on ‘Constitutional Challenges: Pathways and Perspectives’ organised by the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
Lauding the “sacrifice” made by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to make Manmohan Singh the Prime Minister, Shivakumar said, “When Sonia Gandhi was asked by the President to take oath as the Prime Minister, she said, ‘For me, power is not important.’ She decided that a Sikh, a minority, and an economist could save the country and should become the Prime Minister.”
He further asked whether anyone in such a huge democracy had made such a sacrifice. “Does anyone even sacrifice a small position today? Some MLAs and ministers share power, but some of us don’t even agree to share power. Even at the panchayat level, many don’t,” he said, which many interpreted as a jibe targeted at Siddaramaiah, although Shivakumar did not specifically name any leader.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
