The joust for power in Karnataka may have paused, but tension between the two main players of the Congress remains. With the government completing half its term in November, the leadership crisis reached a breaking point. Two breakfast meetings between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar brought little clarity on whether power will change hands soon. While koli (chicken) curry and Cartier watches dominated media and opposition chatter, the outcome stayed hazy. The leaders have left the decision to the high command, insisting they remain “brothers” who will work together for the state and aim to win the 2028 elections. For now, hostilities have cooled due to other pressures: the winter session in Belagavi, where an aggressive opposition is set to corner the government over the power tussle, and the Congress’s recent drubbing in Bihar.
The legislature session beginning Monday promises to be stormy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) likely to raise issues concerning sugarcane and maize farmers, procurement centres and compensation for crop losses. Corruption and the caste census will also take centre stage. The BJP plans a massive protest, a padayatra and a ‘Grama Vastavya’ led by B Y Vijayendra and R Ashoka to reach rural voters and highlight local grievances. The government is expected to take up 33 Bills, including the contentious Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2025. Given its internal divisions, the BJP wouldn’t want to pass up a chance to attack the Congress over the CM tussle and its impact on governance.
Camp politics and indiscipline have long plagued the Congress; groupism and loose remarks by followers have kept Karnataka’s political pot boiling. Ministers shuttling to Delhi, second-rung leaders declaring ambitions, and religious and community heads commenting on power equations have all hurt the party’s image. Yet the Congress’s strength in Karnataka lies in its two top leaders playing complementary roles—Siddaramaiah as a mass leader and Shivakumar as the organisation’s anchor. The party has faced similar infighting in Punjab, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and its inability to manage competing power centres led to its collapse in those states. Voters expect stability and performance, and cannot be taken for granted. The Congress leadership must craft a strategy to keep its Karnataka unit united or risk losing the state as well.