BENGALURU: Though the camps of both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and DCM DK Shivakumar are keeping their fingers crossed over the Congress high command’s decision on approving either a cabinet reshuffle or change in leadership after May 5, when results of elections to five Assemblies and bypolls to two seats in Davanagere South and Bagalkot will be announced, the party leadership may further postpone the decision in the wake of polls to four Rajya Sabha and seven Council seats in Karnataka that are likely in May-June, sources said.
The terms of four Rajya Sabha members, including that of AICC president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, will end on June 25, 2026, and the notification for the biennial elections are likely to be notified in the first week of June. A senior Congress leader said these polls are crucial as Congress can win three out of four seats.
Congress chief whip in the Council, Saleem Ahmed, a strong contender for a ministerial berth, said the cabinet will be reshuffled before May 20 as the Congress government will complete its three years in office then. But in Kalaburagi, Jewargi MLA Ajay Singh, also an aspirant for a cabinet berth, on Monday said the reshuffle could happen in June.
Shivakumar’s camp members, especially his brother-in-law and Kunigal MLA Dr HD Ranganath, on Monday said the high command will hand over the reins of power to their leader on May 15, his birthday. He again cited an agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar that was reportedly arrived at soon after the party came to power in 2023.
“It is true that there is 100% confusion. We are repeatedly urging the high command to resolve this quickly. The agreement is on everyone’s mind. The high command must decide on what that agreement is and let both leaders speak on it. Siddaramaiah has done good work. Many party workers like me hope that Shivakumar fills the post,” he said.
Siddaramaiah’s supporters, however, believe that he will continue as CM. But if the stepping down becomes inevitable, an AHINDA leader, like Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara, could be asked to take over the mantle. They insist that the high command should allow the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) to elect the chief minister, like in the case of Siddaramaiah in 2013 and 2023. This was the line of discussion when Siddaramaiah’s supporters met at Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh’s apartment on Cunningham Road for dinner on Thursday.
At the same time, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will not risk replacing Siddaramaiah as CM, as in other Congress-ruled states of Telangana and Himachal Pradesh, leaders from forward castes -- Revanth Reddy and Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu -- are chief ministers.
If the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) comes to power in Kerala, again leaders from forward castes, like AICC General Secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, senior leader Ramesh Chennithala and VD Satheesan, all from Nair community, will be in race for the post, a Congress leader from a backward caste told TNIE.
