{"id":18771,"date":"2025-10-18T07:35:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T07:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/18\/god-grit-the-government-the-power-tussle-between-siddaramaiah-dk-shivakumar-politics-news\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T07:35:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T07:35:59","slug":"god-grit-the-government-the-power-tussle-between-siddaramaiah-dk-shivakumar-politics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/18\/god-grit-the-government-the-power-tussle-between-siddaramaiah-dk-shivakumar-politics-news\/","title":{"rendered":"God, Grit & The Government: The Power Tussle Between Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar | Politics News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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As the half-way deadline of November approaches, the Congress in Karnataka is slowly finding itself split between the two power centres it tried so hard to balance in 2023<\/h2>\n
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The Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar dynamic has become the Congress\u2019 greatest balancing act. (PTI)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

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<\/a> From fasting during Navratri to praying at Mecca and seeking blessings at the Hasanamba temple\u2014supporters of Karnataka\u2019s deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar seem to be invoking divine intervention to ensure he gets the chair that has eluded him so far. Their mission is clear: make Shivakumar chief minister. Their methods? Everything from religion to rhetoric.<\/p>\n

The whispers about a change in leadership in Karnataka are no longer whispers. They are loud, persistent, and politically loaded. Several Congress MLAs have openly stated that Siddaramaiah must soon hand over the reins to Shivakumar\u2014a statement that has once again brought to the surface the long-running undercurrent within the Congress government over the question of succession.<\/p>\n

When Shivakumar visited the Hasanamba Temple this week, his words reignited the buzz. \u201cOnly I and God know when I will become chief minister,” he said with a smile\u2014a line that was as much a tease as it was a declaration. It was his way of signalling that the wait continues, but perhaps not indefinitely.<\/p>\n

If the divine appeals are theatrical, they\u2019re also deeply symbolic of how far his loyalists are willing to go. <\/p>\n

Rizwan Pasha, vice-president of the Bengaluru South District Youth Congress, offered prayers at Mecca holding up a photograph of Shivakumar and his brother, MP DK Suresh. \u201cBoth leaders are like my two eyes,” he declared in a video from the holy shrine. <\/p>\n

Back home, Congress MLA Dr HD Ranganath, who is also a relative of Shivakumar, undertook a nine-day Navratri fast with one specific wish that Shivakumar becomes Karnataka\u2019s chief minister by the end of 2025.<\/p>\n

But these overt acts of devotion are only one part of the larger story. <\/p>\n

The Congress in Karnataka is slowly finding itself split between the two power centres it tried so hard to balance in 2023\u2014Siddaramaiah, the old warhorse of AHINDA politics, and Shivakumar, the combative organiser who helped deliver victory for the party. <\/p>\n

The so-called \u201c2.5-year formula”\u2014an alleged understanding between the two camps that Siddaramaiah would serve half the term before passing the baton\u2014is like a ghost that refuses to leave Vidhana Soudha.<\/p>\n

Siddaramaiah, meanwhile, continues to play the statesman. \u201cNo one can become chief minister without the support of legislators and the blessings of the high command,” he reminded reporters in a media interaction in Bagalkote. He pointedly emphasised that both factors mattered\u2014a subtle but firm message to his ambitious deputy as well.<\/p>\n

Shivakumar, for his part, insists that the decision lies solely with the high command, though his supporters seem convinced that the countdown has begun.<\/p>\n

The political theatre reached another level recently when Shivakumar launched his biography\u2014 A Symbol of Loyalty: DK Shivakumar, written by journalist KM Raghu. <\/p>\n

In the speech he made at the event, Shivakumar revealed how the BJP had once offered him the post of deputy chief minister during the 2019 political crisis\u2014an offer he claims to have turned down in favour of going to jail. \u201cI prefer jail to becoming deputy chief minister,” he said.<\/p>\n

Calling himself the party loyalist who never strayed even when power was within reach was an unmistakable message to his rivals, his high command, and perhaps even to the sitting CM.<\/p>\n

The BJP, never one to miss a political opening, quickly turned this into a taunt. Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka dubbed Shivakumar\u2019s remarks his \u201cmessage to the Congress high command” and hinted at a \u201cNovember Revolution”\u2014referring to speculation that the Congress government could see a leadership change when it completes its halfway mark next month.<\/p>\n

Inside the Congress, the dissent is both disciplined and defiant. <\/p>\n

Supporters of Shivakumar and MLAs like HA Iqbal Hussain and HC Balakrishna have repeatedly stated that Shivakumar \u201cdeserves a chance to lead”, citing his organisational grit, fundraising muscle, and the fact that his Mekedatu Yatra helped energise the Congress base when it needed it most.<\/p>\n

Hussain even went so far as to reveal that the leadership transition was decided in Delhi in 2023 itself, in the presence of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge. His comments earned him a sharp notice from the KPCC chief\u2014Shivakumar himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiscipline is important. Siddaramaiah is the chief minister and we all should strengthen his hands,” Shivakumar said, attempting to strike a note of unity even as his own camp fans the flames. But the political message between the lines is clear\u2014the clock is ticking, and the calls for change are getting louder.<\/p>\n

The Congress high command, however, has shown no signs of rushing into any change. AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala had spent the months firefighting, urging MLAs to stop making public statements and focus on governance instead. But in Karnataka, politics often has a way of eclipsing governance.<\/p>\n

The Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar dynamic has become the Congress\u2019 greatest balancing act\u2014one built on mutual dependence and simmering competition.<\/p>\n

Siddaramaiah needs Shivakumar\u2019s organisational strength and Vokkaliga support base to keep the BJP and JD(S) at bay in southern Karnataka. Shivakumar, on the other hand, needs Siddaramaiah\u2019s stature and backing from AHINDA communities to hold the government together. It\u2019s an alliance stitched in necessity but strained by ambition.<\/p>\n

As November\u2014the so-called halfway mark\u2014 approaches, the \u201cwill-he-won\u2019t-he” suspense over Shivakumar\u2019s elevation will only grow. His supporters, from temples to mosques, seem to be running a parallel campaign of faith and fervour. <\/p>\n

Whether their prayers will be answered or not depends less on gods and more on the Congress high command in Delhi, which alone holds the keys to the political throne in Karnataka. Until then, every temple visit, every fast, and every fiery remark will keep this political see-saw swinging\u2014one side anchored in loyalty, the other in power.<\/p>\n

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\"Rohini<\/figure>\n

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Rohini Swamy<\/a><\/p>\n

Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18\u2019s digital platform. She has previously worked with t…Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18\u2019s digital platform. She has previously worked with t… Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n
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October 18, 2025, 13:05 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

News<\/a> politics<\/a> God, Grit & The Government: The Power Tussle Between Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar<\/span><\/div>\n
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Last Updated:October 18, 2025, 13:05 IST As the half-way deadline of November approaches, the Congress in Karnataka is slowly finding itself split between the two power centres it tried so hard to balance in 2023 The Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar dynamic has become the Congress\u2019 greatest balancing act. (PTI) From fasting during Navratri to praying at Mecca and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}