The ongoing dispute between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is making headlines in Karnataka politics, and the political tension between the two will also affect the Congress party. In a report published by DNP India, it is observed that Shivakumar has long had the desire to reach the CM office, but this latent ambition of his has been successfully curbed, and soon the southern state might witness a power struggle like it has happened in Maharashtra.
At the heart of the matter is a power-sharing promise that was not fulfilled before the Congress came to power in Karnataka. DK Shivakumar, so much so that he was considered next in line to become the CM after a given period, and he was a strongman of the Vokkaliga community who played a major part in helping Congress win all the elections. But Siddaramaiah’s recent statement suggests he has no immediate plans to step down.
Siddaramaiah’s Statement That Sparked the Storm
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made a bold public declaration that he would complete his five-year term, thus ruling out any possibility of a mid-term leadership change. This announcement has rattled the camp of DK Srivakumar because of the hope he would be offered a rotation formula that would make him take the top job halfway through the term.
Though the two leaders have pretended that there are no differences between them, sources reveal that tensions are brewing in the Congress, especially now that the 2024 Lok Sabha election is over and the matter of representation is shifting to internal party affairs.
Will Karnataka See a Maharashtra Repeat?
Due to the tension, several political analysts have drawn a parallel to the Maharashtra political crisis, through which power-sharing conflict gave rise to a split in the Shiv Sena. We know that there is a lot of silent politics going on in the Karnataka Congress, and the volume is increasing with varying reports of factional politics.
DK Shivakumar, who is a strategic thinker and top-level organizer, has not yet spoken till now about the comment Siddaramaiah has made; this has created even more interest in what can be the next thing to happen.
What Lies Ahead?
The leadership of the Congress at the national level appears to be currently in the wait-and-watch mode in a bid to strike a suitable balance between loyalty and ambition. The stakes are very high with the BJP keeping a tab on whatever is going wrong in the hope that they could find some space to profit from the situation.
