The below-par participation in a foreign tour of Karnataka Congress MLAs allied with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, a gathering of party MLAs aligned with Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, a sharp exchange between the CM and Union Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy, and a visit by Robert Vadra to Bengaluru. These developments, ahead of the state Budget’s presentation on March 6, have kept the political pot boiling in the state over the change of guard drama.
A planned trip of a group of 20-22 MLAs – largely allied with Siddaramaiah – to Australia and New Zealand on an unofficial tour on February 18 to study dairy practices has resulted in a sub-optimal outcome for the CM’s group on account of only a dozen MLAs joining it, according to government sources.
The poor participation of his loyalist legislators in the foreign tour, in what was viewed as an indirect show of strength by Siddaramaiah, has resulted in some challengers to the CM, including Shivakumar’s supporters, coming out again to display their own strength.
A dinner meeting organised in Bengaluru on February 26 – to reportedly celebrate the birthday of the Congress MLA H C Balakrishna from the Shivakumar camp – saw the participation of 18 MLAs.
A proposal was broached at the meeting to take a team of around 40 MLAs on a New Delhi tour in the coming days to show the growing strength of the Shivakumar camp, sources said. Previously a group of around 12 MLAs from the Shivakumar camp had carried out a futile visit to Delhi in November 2025 to appeal to the party high command on Shivakumar’s behalf.
“If you have personal requests or aspirations for Cabinet positions, you can go to Delhi. But you don’t need to go to Delhi to bat for me,” the Deputy CM said Friday while claiming the February 26 meeting of his supporters was not a show of strength.
“It was no show of strength. Some MLAs travel abroad for leisure and study tours, some go to Delhi and some others meet for dinners. What they do for personal reasons has nothing to do with the party,” said Shivakumar, who has had his sights set on the CM’s seat since the Congress came to power in May 2023.
Earlier, when Siddaramaiah’s supporters had announced their plans to embark on a foreign tour, the CM had said there was nothing wrong with it if it was being done by the MLAs at their own expense.
“All groups have dinner meetings, we have had meetings and they have had meetings. We do not have an exclusive contract on holding dinner meetings,” said senior Congress minister Satish Jarkiholi, who is considered a Siddaramaiah supporter, about the dinner meeting held by Shivakumar’s supporters.
CM vs Kumaraswamy
Ahead of the February 26 dinner meeting, Siddaramaiah had sparred with BJP ally and Union minister H D Kumaraswamy on which party in Karnataka was “most democratic” when it came to choosing a CM.
It began after Siddaramaiah wrote a piece for a local newspaper to mark World Social Justice Day on February 20, stating that the Congress was the only party to give equal opportunities to all castes to become the CM, unlike the BJP and JD(S), which, he claimed, restricted their choices to the dominant castes in the state.
“My four decades of political life have never been a bed of roses; it has always been a path of stones and thorns. Many big leaders have carried out numerous cunning conspiracies to politically finish me. With the blessings of the people, I have overcome all of them. I know very well this is not a conspiracy against me – it is a conspiracy against you, the people who believe in me,” Siddaramaiah said in the article, in an apparent reference to the efforts to dethrone him.
“Most of the attacks that my opponents are carrying out against me… my birth caste is one reason for them too,” Siddaramaiah said, referring to his own Kuruba OBC group.
Kumaraswamy, who hails from the dominant Vokkaliga community, countered Siddaramaiah’s arguments on social media, saying the CM had not given political space for Dalit and other OBC leaders.
“It is deeply unsettling to hear repeated lectures on social justice from someone whose actions have consistently undermined capable leaders within the party. Had conscience prevailed, Mallikarjun Kharge would have become CM before you. Instead, internal rivals were systematically sidelined,” Kumaraswamy said.
In response, Siddaramaiah said, “Kumaraswamy and his revered father (former Prime Minister) H D Deve Gowda are certainly not casteists; they are anti-caste in rhetoric. More importantly, they are family loyalists. For them, their caste is nothing but a vote bank,” Siddaramaiah said. “Father and sons have sidelined others in the political arena to promote only one another, preventing even same-caste leaders from rising,” he alleged.
“In Karnataka, Vokkaligas, Lingayats, and backward classes have become CMs under the Congress. It is also the Congress that recognised me, belonging to a backward caste, and gave me the opportunity to become CM for the second time,” he said. “I can confidently say that if anyone from the Dalit community one day becomes CM, it will be possible only through the Congress.”
Kumaraswamy, in his rebuttal, dared the Congress to name a Vokkaliga CM. “If the Congress is making Vokkaligas the CM, shouldn’t you leave the chair immediately? This is the time to show your love for the Vokkaligas,” said Kumaraswamy, a Vokkaliga like Shivakumar, who is currently Siddaramaiah’s main challenger for the CM’s post.
Karnataka has had seven CMs since the 1950s from the dominant Lingayat community, six from Vokkaligas, three from the OBC groups, and two Brahmins but no Dalits so far.
Pitch for Dalit CM
Following the renewed pressure from Shivakumar for the CM’s post and the heated exchange between Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy, there have also been renewed calls for the appointment of a Dalit CM.
“Since Siddaramaiah is the CM at present, there is no reason not to consider a Dalit CM for the future. The situation and opportunities must arise. The Congress high command and Siddaramaiah must identify an appropriate Dalit leader to be appointed as the CM,” said Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa, a Siddaramaiah supporter and Dalit leader.
State Home Minister G Parameshwara, a Dalit, also once again indicated that he should be considered for the CM’s post in the event of a change, while saying the decision should be made by the Congress high command.
“I have worked to bring the party to power on two occasions. Could it have been done without having the capability? I have worked as the Deputy CM and could I have done it without having any capability? My capability cannot be questioned… but opportunities must arise and decisions must be taken,” Parameshwara said. He was also reported to have a quiet meeting with Kumaraswamy recently.
Robert Vadra in Bengaluru
Amid the jostling over the CM’s post, a visit to Bengaluru by Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi who is considered close to Shivakumar, has also stirred the political pot.
Vadra arrived Wednesday reportedly on a business visit. He, however, met a prominent businessman-minister in the Congress government considered close to the CM, sources said.
He told a local television channel Friday that he would report to his family on what he had gathered in Bengaluru. He added that both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were “working together for the benefit of the people”.