Karnataka Leaders Meet Congress High Command Amid CM Change Speculation

Karnataka's top leaders, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, are in Delhi for crucial talks with the Congress high command. The meeting is expected to address speculation about a potential leadership change in the state. Discussions will also cover cabinet expansion and Rajya Sabha nominations. The party leadership will decide the future course of action.

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar will meet the Congress high command, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, in Delhi on Tuesday amid renewed buzz over a possible leadership change in Karnataka.

“The issue will be settled one or the other way at Tuesday’s meeting. We will have clarity on the subject,” a source close to the deputy chief minister said. The two leaders travelled to Delhi on Monday night following summons from the AICC leadership.

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Shivakumar, a prominent Vokkaliga leader, has been staking claim to the chief minister’s post since Siddaramaiah completed 30 months in office in November 2025. Both leaders have so far refrained from discussing the issue publicly after their back-to-back breakfast meetings in November and December, where they said they would abide by the party leadership’s decision.

Their supporters, however, have continued to intensify pressure for their respective leaders.

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Besides Kharge and Gandhi, AICC general secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala are expected to participate in the discussions. It remains unclear whether the central leadership will hold separate meetings with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.

The chief minister is also facing pressure from a section of senior MLAs seeking a full-fledged cabinet reshuffle and an opportunity to be inducted as ministers.

Three vacancies currently exist in the cabinet following the resignations of B Nagendra and KN Rajanna, and the death of minister D Sudhakar.

Siddaramaiah, however, has said he was awaiting the leadership’s permission to recast his Cabinet. The Congress sources said the AICC leaders will take a view on the Cabinet reshuffle or expansion, choice of candidates for the Rajya Sabha and if the party should have a new CM before elections. The party regime has completed three years in Karnataka.

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Meanwhile, a section of Dalit ministers has also staked its claim to the CM’s post, arguing that if the leadership thinks a change is necessary now, then it should consider a Dalit leader for the position. Senior Congress MLA KN Rajanna suggested, early this month, that the high command should consider home minister G Parameshwara for the CM’s post, while Parameshwara himself recently batted for Mallikarjun Kharge. Parameshwara, a senior Congress leader from the Dalit community, has previously served as KPCC president and deputy CM.

Shivakumar, sources say. has not been keen on a cabinet reshuffle, as it could effectively end his chief ministerial ambitions for the next two years.

Earlier, Shivakumar had broadly hinted at his claim to the CM’s post as Siddaramaiah approached the halfway mark of his tenure in November last year. He had also referred to a “secret” arrangement known to five or six top leaders ahead of Siddaramaiah’s swearing-in as chief minister in May 2023.

Leaders in Siddaramaiah’s camp are also seen to be backing Dalit leaders such as Parameshwara and Jarkiholi in the event the AICC opts for a leadership change ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.