Amid mounting speculation over a possible leadership change in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is likely to convene a breakfast meeting of his Cabinet colleagues at his official residence in Bengaluru on Thursday morning, official sources said.
The meeting assumes significance amid reports that Siddaramaiah could step down from the Chief Minister’s post, paving the way for Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to take over.
Shivakumar reportedly altered his travel plans and is expected to return early from Delhi on Thursday morning to attend the meeting. He had earlier been scheduled to return to Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon.
Speculation over a leadership transition gathered pace following reports that the Congress high command had urged a change in leadership in the State and offered Mr. Siddaramaiah a role at the Centre in the party organisation along with a Rajya Sabha berth. Reports suggested that the Chief Minister had not immediately accepted the proposal.
According to sources, Siddaramaiah may have decided to step down after receiving a message directly from Rahul Gandhi. The Chief Minister had repeatedly stated that he would relinquish office if asked to do so by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
However, the Congress on Tuesday dismissed reports of a leadership change as “mere speculation” and maintained that discussions between the party’s central and State leadership in Delhi had focused solely on the upcoming Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had been summoned to Delhi on Tuesday, where they participated in a series of meetings at the Congress headquarters with Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala.
The Chief Minister returned to Bengaluru late on Tuesday night along with some Cabinet colleagues and is learnt to have held closed-door meetings with Ministers after his arrival.
Siddaramaiah is scheduled to attend events in Bengaluru on Wednesday to mark the death anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, including a programme at the State Congress office and a tribute at his statue near Vidhana Soudha. No other official engagements are listed in his schedule for the day.
There are also reports that Venugopal and Surjewala may travel to Bengaluru shortly.
Supporters of Shivakumar have renewed demands for his elevation, citing a reported power-sharing arrangement reached after the Congress secured victory in the 2023 Assembly elections.
The leadership question within the ruling party has intensified since the government crossed the halfway mark of its five-year term in November 2025. Following the Congress victory in May 2023, both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were contenders for the Chief Minister’s post before the party leadership named the former as Chief Minister and the latter as Deputy Chief Minister.
Though reports at the time suggested a “rotational chief minister formula” under which Shivakumar would assume office after two-and-a-half years, the arrangement has never been officially confirmed by the party.
(With inputs from PTI)