NDA is cannibalising its junior partner in Maharashtra, but the big sensational political headlines focus on a stable single-party government in Karnataka. With the backing of 138 MLAs in the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly, the Congress government doesn’t have a threat of instability, but that hasn’t stopped the perception of trouble — mostly sparked by a section of Congress leaders, fanned by Opposition parties and duly dramatised by a lopsided media.
Published Nov 23, 2025 | 12:53 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 23, 2025 | 12:53 PM
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
Synopsis: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has waited for his time for years. Now, with the Congress government completing half of its term in Karnataka, speculations are rising about his demand to replace Siddaramaiah as the chief minister. However, a nuanced look at the situation reveals his quest for an assurance from the central leadership is around something else in a post-Siddaramaiah era.
The primary constituent of the ruling NDA in Maharashtra is cannibalising its junior partner. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is engaged in poaching leaders of Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), much to the chagrin of the Mahayuti government’s deputy chief minister.
Last week, an unamused Eknath Shinde met Union Home Minister Amit Shah with complaints against the Maharashtra unit of the BJP and its poaching of his party’s ministers, leaders and cadres. The tensions are so high that ministers from the Shinde Sena have boycotted Cabinet meetings chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Reportedly, several poaching attempts are aimed at Eknath Shinde’s bastion of Thane. Even Shinde’s meeting with Amit Shah hasn’t put an end to the poaching, with the BJP insisting that it has the right to expand — even if it comes at the cost of its own junior partner.
Ideally, this story should have captured the headlines of all media platforms — a coalition government where ministers are boycotting Cabinet meetings and two alliance partners are aiming at each other’s throats. Ironically, all the attention seems to be on neighbouring Karnataka, where a single party — the Indian National Congress — is running a stable government.
To clarify, stability in the government doesn’t mean there are no groups and factions in the party.
With the backing of an overwhelming 138 MLAs in the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly, the Congress government doesn’t face a threat of instability. However, that hasn’t stopped perception of trouble — mostly sparked by a section of Congress leaders, fanned by Opposition parties and duly dramatised by a lopsided media.
As the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka completes half its term in office, headlines are abuzz over Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar pushing to take over the top post.
A popular narrative is being built that Shivakumar’s patience is waning, and he has reached a point of no return, as Siddaramaiah, a prominent leader of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community, Kuruba, has been refusing to yield just yet.
Since July this year, South First has reported several times on why it is nearly impossible for Congress to axe Siddaramaiah without his consent. Siddaramaiah is pretty much the only leader who commands the support of several sections of the Congress’s core vote bank — minorities, backward classes and Dalits. Siddaramaiah is a mass leader and has no substitute in Congress or the state at this point in time. As things stand, the transfer of his goodwill is essential to the party.
That being said, Shivakumar has been Congress’s strength for years — a reliable leader, an unquestionable loyalist, a remarkable resource manager and a trusted aide of the Gandhi-Nehru family. While Siddaramaiah wins on his ideological clarity and status of a mass leader, Shivakumar wins with his commitment to Congress.
Even as some of Shivakumar’s supporters — MLAs, MLCs and party cadres, encouraged by his brother DK Suresh — camped in Delhi to lobby for his elevation, Siddaramaiah calmly told the media that he will remain the chief minister and present the next budget for Karnataka.
“Nobody has said CM won’t continue for five years. He has said that he will continue, and there is no disputing his words. He is our big leader, and when he makes a statement, we are all bound by it. We are bound by the decision of the AICC (All India Congress Committee),” Shivakumar had told reporters outside his residence a couple of days ago.
There’s no debate about whether Shivakumar aspires to be the chief minister. He does. As a seasoned politician, as much as DK Shivakumar wants to be the chief minister of Karnataka — having toiled to bring Congress to power — he is aware that he won’t be able to replace Siddaramaiah in the literal sense of the word.
“The party made him an assurance in 2023, and he is simply asking the central leadership to initiate talks,” a source very close to Shivakumar told South First. The line captures everything Shivakumar wants right now — an assurance from the central leadership of the Congress that his work won’t go unrewarded.
He was made the deputy chief minister despite initial objections from Siddaramaiah in 2023. Suggestions by Siddaramaiah to have multiple deputy chief ministers were also struck down to favour Shivakumar, who didn’t want anyone else in the same lane as him. In simple terms, he didn’t want competition.
From 2023 till now, Shivakumar’s fight has been the same — to remain the undisputed next-in-line to be the chief minister and have a decent tenure in the top to make it count. Fully aware that the party cannot push Siddaramaiah out of the top post, Shivakumar knows he can become the chief minister only if Siddaramaiah voluntarily gives up the chair, even if it is grudgingly.
Until that time, what he expects from the grand old party is the reassurance that nobody else — even those being propped by Siddaramaiah and his camp — will pose a real or perceived threat to him.
Siddaramaiah’s supporters, including his son Dr Yathindra, have been publicising names like Satish Jarkiholi, while other sections of Congress have been lobbying for MB Patil and G Parameshwara for the top job.
A recent public statement by Yathindra endorsing Jarkiholi as “potential next CM candidate” while insisting that Siddaramaiah, his father, had come to the fag end of his political career, irritated many in the Shivakumar camp.
“If Siddaramaiah, as he claims, is going to be CM for five full years, then why are these names being propped up? Shivakumar only wants the party leadership to hold talks and come to a decision on the transfer of power without hiccups — as promised. Shivakumar has lost a lot for the party while Siddaramaiah has only enjoyed power,” the close aide of the deputy chief minister told South First.
While quitting the party or jumping ship isn’t an option for Shivakumar now, his real fight is not to immediately replace Siddaramaiah as the chief minister, but to secure an assurance from the Congress that there will be no dispute about him being the next in line for the top post. He wants no proxies – neither proxies of Siddaramaiah nor proxies of the AICC -to contend his claim to the top post.
He wants this assurance from Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
