BENGALURU: In the backdrop of the leadership change imbroglio in the Karnataka Congress government, political circles are abuzz with talk that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar may travel to New Delhi on December 26 or 27.
A Congress leader clarified that a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is scheduled for December 27, but the leadership issue does not figure in the agenda, and there is no official invitation yet for either leader to attend the meeting. “Perhaps they could discuss this issue either before or after the CWC.
As of now, there is no official intimation to the CM or DCM to attend these meetings,” the leader said, dismissing reports of an imminent Delhi summons. Another senior Congress leader remarked that the camps of the two top Karnataka leaders were “playing mind games” amid continued speculation over a power-sharing arrangement for the CM’s post.
The disagreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar centres on whether there exists a powersharing agreement, particularly the oft-rumoured “two-and-a-half-year” rotation formula under which Shivakumar would take over midway through the government’s five-year term.
The issue, which has lingered since the Congress formed the government in May 2023, resurfaced sharply in December 2025 following a series of conflicting public statements. Siddaramaiah has repeatedly denied the existence of any such agreement.
On December 19, he said, “I never said anything about ‘two and a half years’. There is no such agreement.” He also asserted that he would continue as chief minister unless the party high command decided otherwise. “I am the chief minister now, and I will remain so until the high command says otherwise,” he said, adding that the government would complete its full term.
In contrast, Shivakumar has maintained that an agreement was brokered by the Congress high command at the time of government formation. He has stated that the high command would take a call at the “appropriate time” and that he would abide by its decision.
While dismissing speculation about secret meetings, he has continued to assert that the leadership issue was settled through an internal understanding. Opposition parties, meanwhile, have seized on the renewed statements to highlight what they describe as “internal contradictions” within the ruling Congress.
