End Game In Siddaramaiah vs DK Shivakumar Battle? Congress' Big Meet Today

Congress leaders - including party boss Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi - will meet at the party's head office in Delhi this morning to potentially discuss an end to an increasingly embarrassing Karnataka leadership dispute.

Squabbling in the southern state has seen Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, and their camps, sniping at each other over the top job since the 2023 election. The Congress has had to make two major interventions since - Randeep Singh Surjewala was sent down - but the dispute over an alleged power-sharing promise persists. And now it seems the party is trying to avoid another episode, particularly with an election due in 2028 and the BJP ready to pounce.

But only one half of the dispute - Siddaramaiah – has been called to join the meeting. The chief minister brushed off talk on what this might mean, telling reporters, "I don't know the subject of the discussion… speculation will always be there."

Shivakumar has not been invited, though sources have said a sit-down with the deputy chief minister is also on the cards, as is a meeting involving both squabbling leaders. In any case, this morning Siddaramaiah will likely meet Kharge and Gandhi.

And it could be the defining meeting, one that puts an end to this saga.

NDTV was told earlier that "all issues" would be resolved after a meeting at the end of May. On this DKS, who has said he expects the party to eventually back him, offered a cryptic "good times will come" response. A decision on who will be chief minister for the rest of this term and, critically, lead the party into the next election, could be taken in the next 72 hours.

Why a change is needed

Becaue apart from his age - Siddaramaiah will be 80 in 2028 -  the chief minister's governance record is seen as poor, and with anti-incumbency growing the party reportedly wants to replace him sooner rather than later.

This is also why a proposed cabinet reshuffle has failed to materialise.

The problem for the Congress is that Siddaramaiah still has support among the Ahinda communities, which refers to a multi-group voter base of minorities, backward classes, and Dalits that has consistently backed the chief minister, allowing him to claim the title of a 'mass leader' and circumvent an otherwise bi-polar caste landscape, i.e., the Vokkaliga-Lingayat divide.

NDTV Explains | Hidden Caste Face-off In Siddaramaiah-DKS Karnataka Battle

And it means the Congress would rather not risk angering such a large voter base. 

The ideal solution is for Siddaramaiah to stand down of his own volition, with a Rajya Sabha seat as compensation and a key cabinet berth for his son. If he refuses to do so, it will likely become a very complicated matter for the party.

Why DKS' claim is strong

Shivakumar is simultaneously the deputy chief minister and chief of the Congress' state unit, two high-profile posts that do not normally fall to the same person, at least under the 'one man, one post' credo Gandhi has urged.

But that DKS holds these is evidence of his value to the Congress. 

Shivakumar belongs to the Vokkaliga caste - traditionally a stronghold of the Janata Dal Secular.  Making him chief minister could steal valuable votes from that community. That would not only impact the JDS but, crucially, also the BJP, its ally. 

On the flip side, DKS does face corruption charges and that will certainly be a line of attack for the opposition.

What happened last year?

The last big flare-up was in November 2025 when the Congress government completed two-and-a-half years in power. Hitting the halfway mark was the cue for DKS' supporters to make public references to the 'agreement' the two party reportedly executed after the 2023 win.

The 'agreement' was that Siddaramaiah and DKS would 'share' power, i.e., each would be chief minister for two-and-a-half years. Neither leader, nor the party, has acknowledged such a 'deal'.

Troubleshooter Surjewala was sent down to put out the fire, again, which he did, again, by urging the warring factions to focus on the Kerala and Tamil Nadu elections - which were then six months away. But now those polls are over - the Congress won Kerala and controversially aligned with actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to share power in Tamil Nadu.

And it seems it is time for another round of 'who will be Karnataka chief minister'.

RECAP | Siddaramaiah vs DKS Is Not New. A Look At What Happened In 2023, 2018

Talk of an end to this struggle has been amplified by a rush of senior Karnataka leaders travelling to Delhi. The group includes ministers and ministerial aspirants from both camps who will likely set up cheerleading booths on the meetings' sidelines.