SIDDARAMAIAH ON THE BRINK: CONGRESS HIGH COMMAND MOVES TO REPLACE KARNATAKA CM WITH DK SHIVAKUMAR
Rahul Gandhi reportedly makes the offer personally; Siddaramaiah seeks time but says he will not defy the party — a CLP meeting on May 28 could seal his fate
By NewsArc Bureau
NEW DELHI / BENGALURU, May 27, 2026 — Karnataka’s long-simmering leadership battle has reached a boiling point, with the Congress high command reportedly nudging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to vacate the top post and make way for his deputy, DK Shivakumar.
The development follows a marathon six-hour meeting between senior Congress leadership and the Karnataka state brass in New Delhi. The gathering brought together Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary KC Venugopal, and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Surjewala.
Sources indicate that it was Rahul Gandhi himself who put the proposal to Siddaramaiah — and that the veteran OBC leader may find it difficult to refuse. As a sweetener, Siddaramaiah was offered a Rajya Sabha berth and asked to play a larger national role, though he reportedly expressed no desire to enter national politics and sought time to consider the proposal.
Despite the political storm swirling around Bengaluru and Delhi corridors, the party’s official line remained one of denial. Addressing reporters after the meeting, Venugopal dismissed speculation about a leadership change and stated that the nearly two-hour discussion had focused exclusively on Rajya Sabha and Karnataka Legislative Council elections.
Behind closed doors, however, the picture appears starkly different. Reports citing sources say Siddaramaiah will step down later this week, with his son Yathindra Siddaramaiah likely to be elevated as Deputy Chief Minister under the incoming Shivakumar dispensation.
Siddaramaiah reportedly told senior leaders he was unaware of any “two and a half year formula” regarding a power-sharing arrangement — though he added that he would ultimately step down if Rahul Gandhi asked him to.
The Congress Legislative Party meeting is reportedly scheduled for May 28, when Siddaramaiah may formally announce his decision.
The political stakes are enormous. Siddaramaiah remains one of Congress’s most powerful OBC leaders, central to the party’s AHINDA coalition — representing minorities, OBCs, and Dalits — and any transition must be weighed against the party’s national social justice positioning.
The Opposition wasted no time in seizing on the turmoil. Karnataka’s Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka declared that the power struggle between the two leaders had pushed the state government into a “coma stage.”
As the Congress walks a tightrope between factional arithmetic and electoral arithmetic ahead of the 2028 assembly polls, all eyes are now on Siddaramaiah’s next move — and whether the high command’s quiet pressure will translate into a public resignation.
