Sound of Karnataka government reshuffle, eyes fixed on Siddaramaiah-DK Shivakumar meeting in Delhi

Amidst the ongoing power struggle within the Congress government in Karnataka, the eyes of political circles are fixed on the important meeting to be held in Delhi on Tuesday. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar reached Delhi on Monday (May 25) evening, where they have been summoned by the party leadership. The meeting of the two leaders will be held at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, in which Rahul Gandhi will also be present.

According to sources, the meeting is likely to have wide-ranging discussions on leadership change in Karnataka, government performance and organizational strategy before the 2028 assembly elections. The party leadership believes that before the next elections, changes in the administrative structure and political balance may be necessary so that the efficiency and public relations of the government can be improved.

It is being told that the Congress high command is considering three possible options in Karnataka.

The first option is to reshuffle the cabinet without changing the Chief Minister. In this situation the party can try to maintain social and political balance. According to sources, a large-scale cabinet reshuffle could be done to further strengthen the “Ahinda” representation, remove underperforming ministers and improve the administrative image. In Kannada politics, AHINDA refers to the alliance of minority, backward class and Dalit communities, which is considered to be the main political strategy of Siddaramaiah.

Sources say that in this possible reshuffle, DK Shivakumar’s suggestions can also be given importance so that it does not appear to be a unilateral decision but can become a model of consensus between the two groups.

The second and politically most sensitive option is considered to be a change of leadership. There has been a discussion going on within the party for a long time that when the Congress government is formed in 2023, the power sharing formula for the post of Chief Minister was decided. MLAs supporting DK Shivakumar are continuously raising the demand of making him the Chief Minister.

Under this option, DK Shivakumar can be made the Chief Minister, while consideration can be given to sending Siddaramaiah to Rajya Sabha. However, such a decision would demand a new balance of power between the two factions and a major cabinet reshuffle.

The third and relatively less probable option is the name of Mallikarjun Kharge himself also being discussed. Sources say that if a consensus is not reached between the Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar factions, Kharge may be brought forward as a consensus face. However, if this happens, there will be a major change in the national leadership structure of Congress and the top leadership including Rahul Gandhi will have to formulate a new strategy.

Amidst this political turmoil, elections for three Rajya Sabha seats and nine Legislative Council seats are also going to be held in the state. The last date for nomination for Rajya Sabha elections has been fixed as June 8. A new round of tussle and factionalism may be seen within the party regarding candidate selection.

The power struggle within the Karnataka Congress has continuously intensified in the last few months. The state government has completed half its tenure and with this the discussions about change of leadership have again started gaining momentum. However, DK Shivakumar has been publicly exercising caution on this issue. He has said many times, “Only time will answer these questions.”

After the return of Congress to power in Kerala, discussions regarding political rebalancing and future strategy have intensified within the Karnataka unit.

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