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Shivakumar, who has been upset about not being made the Chief Minister, is doing things that have led to raised eyebrows. He is repeatedly reminding the party bosses in New Delhi that he should be made the Karnataka chief minister.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar shut down critics of his Maha Kumbh’s participation. (Source: PTI)
Karnataka Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar shared the dais with spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev and Union Home Minister Amit Shah near Coimbatore on Wednesday. Officially, it was a Shivaratri celebration and Shivakumar defended his decision to attend it claiming he is a devout Hindu.
Shivakumar looks unfazed and defended his decision by saying that it was purely a religious visit and not political.
But Shivakumar, who has been upset about not being made the Chief Minister, is doing things that have led to raised eyebrows. He is repeatedly reminding the party bosses in New Delhi that he should be made the chief minister replacing the incumbent Siddaramaiah, who he thinks has been rewarded well by the Congress.
He is claiming that there was a power sharing agreement after the Congress rode to power in May 2023 and it is his turn to occupy the highest position in the state.
The Siddaramaiah camp has been dismissing such agreements and maintains he will complete the full term of five years. At least a dozen ministers close to the Chief Minister have openly questioned Shivakumar’s claims in the last few weeks.
It is no secret that the extremely ambitious Shivakumar is terribly upset that the party is not considering him for the post of CM even after he, along with Siddaramaiah, led the party to a big win almost two years ago. According to him, it is his right and not a largesse of the Congress.
However, breaking the Congress does not look so easy as the party has 140 MLAs in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly. The combined opposition of BJP and JDS has just 84 MLAs, a few of them upset with their own party.
Majority of Congress MLAs still support Siddaramaiah and may not switch sides so easily, if Shivakumar decides to break his 40-year ties with the Congress. On the other hand, the Gowda clan of JDS dislikes Shivakumar and him moving to the BJP is not in their interest. If at all the unthinkable happens, the Gowdas might reconsider their options.
A seasoned politician and a tremendous organiser, Shivakumar is aware of such practical difficulties and may not make any hasty decisions.
According to some insiders, Shivakumar has launched an indirect attack on his own party to save his Karnataka Congress president post. His five-year term has already expired and many in the party are demanding that he be replaced with someone else. It has angered Shivakumar to no end and he is asserting that he will continue as the KPCC president. He recently made a statement that he will lead the Congress even in the next Assembly elections due in 2028.
A ministerial colleague of Shivakumar says that he lacks common sense at times and makes stupid mistakes which work against him later. He agrees that Shivakumar has unlimited resources and a great organising capacity which he should channelise to earn the post of CM in Congress.
People close to Shivakumar reveal that he is truly upset that he has to literally beg for the post of CM even after working tirelessly for the Congress for decades.
A firm believer in astrology and a devout Hindu, Shivakumar believes that if he is not made the chief minister during the current term of the Assembly, he won’t get that post in his lifetime. That fear of losing the most coveted post seems to have forced him to take extreme steps.
How will the Congress manage this crisis? Making Shivakumar CM will certainly upset the Siddaramaiah camp which is numerically stronger and diverse than any other faction in the party.
Every step of Shivakumar, who has in the past tried to stop any defection from Congress to BJP in Karnataka and other states including Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, will be closely watched by both Congress and BJP.
Will he? Won’t he? All eyes are on the Karnataka Deputy CM’s next move.
