"Yes, Many Want...": Congress MLA Triggers Siddaramaiah vs DKS Round 3

The Congress' Karnataka troubles - the power struggle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, over the top post - reignited Tuesday after MLA CP Yogeshwar said a majority of the party legislators, and his constituency voters, backed DKS' claim.

"Yes, many MLAs are united... DK Shivakumar should become Chief Minister. We are not divided on that opinion... people of the district and MLAs want the same thing..." he said, echoing claims by another DKS loyalist, Iqbal Hussain, who said over 100 MLAs would back Shivakumar.

"But the decision is left to the Congress' central leadership," Yogeshwar told reporters, in comments that suggest DKS' camp is again trying to strongarm the party into submission.

The comments drew a swift response from senior party leader Randeep Surjewala, who had been sent to Bengaluru last week to broker peace between the Siddaramaiah and DKS camps.

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"The KPCC (i.e., the Congress' Karnataka unit) chief and I have spoken about this... everyone can have ambitions and desires. I don't want to say anything more," Surjewala said.

There was quite the political storm in Karnataka last week after Siddaramaiah and DKS loyalists went head-to-head. The latter reminded the Congress leadership of a 'deal' that was reportedly struck after the party's impressive win in the 2023 election - that Siddaramaiah would step down after two-and-a-half years to allow DKS, who has made no secret of his ambitions, to take over.

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Those two-and-a-half years are up in September, and DKS loyalists like Hussain and Yogeshwar have insisted their man now has the support of a majority of the Congress' 138 MLAs.

This bickering - the Siddaramaiah camp responded by pointing to DKS holding multiple high-profile posts in violation of the party's 'one man, one post' directive - forced the Congress to bring in Surjewala. Incidentally, it was Surjewala who settled the 2023 dispute.

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Surjewala was sent again to broker another truce and appeared to do just that after meeting the two squabbling leaders, party MLAs, and district chiefs. At a press conference after those meetings he categorically denied any speculation that DKS would replace Siddaramaiah.

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A subdued DKS sat by his side then and later told NDTV, "I don't want any MLAs to bat for me..." in a message seen as calling on his supporters to stand down. "The focus should be on 2028 election. There are no factions... there is only one Congress under (party boss Mallikarjun) Kharge," DKS said.

The Congress then insisted all was well within the state leadership structure, and that the Siddaramaiah and DKS camps will now play nice and pull together ahead of the 2028 poll.

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