As Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s government approaches its midway mark, completing two-and-a-half years in office in November, it is facing severe turbulence.
After finding itself in a difficult situation over a stampede during the RCB’s IPL 2025 victory celebrations in Bengaluru that claimed 11 lives, and a setback over the contentious 2015 caste survey report that was spiked on the high command’s directions, rumblings within the party have come out in open to put the government in a tight spot.
Earlier this week, the murmurs and cacophony in the party got louder, and at one point, it seemed like a free-for-all situation. The ruling party legislators spoke openly about multiple power centres in the government and the party, alleged corruption in the allocation of houses to the poor, sought a minister’s resignation, and hinted at a ‘revolution’ in the state politics after September.
As Chief Minister Siddaramaiah attempts to portray an all-is-well image, the party’s central leadership is said to be stepping in for damage control. Back-to-back setbacks could undo the gains the government accrued by implementing the guarantee schemes. Also, the party cannot afford to lose the perception battle, even if the opposition hasn’t been able to capitalise on the government’s slip-ups to the extent sought.
The latest round of trouble for the government started after senior Congress leader and Aland (Kalaburagi district) MLA BR Patil alleged corruption in allocation of houses to the poor by the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation. In his phone conversation with Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan’s Private Secretary Sarfaraz Khan, the legislator questioned if such allocation has become a business.
The leaked audio clip put the government on the mat. It was squirming for defence after the MLA stuck to his stand. Complicating matters for the government, a few other MLAs backed Patil’s views. MLA Raju Kage, who endorsed Patil’s views, threatened to resign over lack of funds for development works and another MLA Belur Gopalakrishna suggested that Zameer Ahmed should resign.
The party insiders said the issue of MLAs expressing displeasure came up for discussions during the CM’s meeting with party central leaders in New Delhi, where he was asked to take MLAs into confidence.
As soon as he landed in Bengaluru, the CM spoke to Patil and Kage. On his part, Zameer Ahmed refuted accusations of any wrongdoing in the allocation of houses and suggested that the claims should be investigated. However, it is not clear whether the party and the CM, who rushed to deal with the political fallout, will show the same alacrity in getting the allegations investigated.
Unlike in his first tenure as CM, from 2013-18, the party’s central leadership is now more assertive and often sends out a message that they are the ones calling the shots. That was evident in the caste survey issue in which Siddaramaiah, who was defending it all along, despite stiff opposition from the dominant Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities, had to change his stand. The delay in getting names cleared for nomination to the four vacant seats in the State Legislative Council also speaks volumes about multiple power centres and the changing dynamics within the party.
Cooperative Minister KN Rajanna, who is considered to be a confidante of the CM, stated, “Earlier, from 2013 to 2018, there was only one power centre (the CM). Now, there are more power centres. 1,2,3… When you have more power centres, there will be more hassles…”
Perhaps, Rajanna was indicating how the CM has to negotiate his way with a more assertive high command, and the equally assertive and ambitious Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who nurtures the ambition of becoming the CM.
The DyCM’s camp appears to be banking on a power-sharing agreement said to have been reached before the government formation. The party has neither publicly accepted nor denied the existence of such an agreement to share power between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who together led the party to a thumping victory in the May 2023 assembly polls.
Both camps seem to be doing their best to bolster their positions as the government heads towards the mid-way mark. Some insiders in the party point to the high command’s refusal to budge to a demand by a section of Congress leaders for a change of the party’s state president and not greenlighting cabinet reshuffle as an indication of things to come. According to them, changes are likely to happen after November.
As of now, Rajanna’s remarks on developments in September have triggered a political debate. While some say the ministers and MLAs are positioning themselves for a big shake-up, others rule out any major change except a cabinet reshuffle to accommodate a few new faces.
Expectedly, different camps will look at the recent developments differently. Hardly anyone in the political circles could ignore Rajanna’s remarks, although the CM suggests “it is better to ignore it”.