Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge (centre) with Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah (R) and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar (L).
Credit: DH Photo
New Delhi: With Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge all set to call Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar soon to national capital to settle the power tussle in Karnataka, both the camps are preparing charge sheets against each other in case of a showdown.
The chief minister’s camp is likely to question the existence of “power-sharing formula” that is being cited by the Shivakumar camp to stake claim for the top post in the state, claiming it was neither discussed nor finalised in the run up to the formation of the government in May 2023.
Shivakumar has said that the power-sharing formula was a “secret among 5-6 people”, purportedly referring to a meeting of the Congress top brass, including Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.
However, the Siddaramaiah camp disputes this citing general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal’s remarks at a press conference on May 18, 2023 that the “only power-sharing arrangement discussed” was on how to “share power with people”.
The chief minister’s camp is also preparing a counter-offensive against Shivakumar, painting him in saffron colours listing his attendance at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj in February 2025 despite the Congress central leadership keeping away from the event alleging that the BJP was using the religious congregation for political purposes.
They will also highlight Shivakumar sharing dais with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a function at Isha Foundation in February 2025. The third instance highlighted by Siddaramaiah camp is Shivakumar reciting the RSS anthem in the Assembly.
Counter by DKS camp
In counter, the group led by Shivakumar is insisting that the chief minister must honour his word and leave the chair for Shivakumar as per the power-sharing agreement. They are also projecting Siddaramaiah as a lateral entry into the party from the Janata Parivar, demanding that a dyed in the wool Congressman who has risen up the ranks should be given the opportunity to lead the party into the 2028 Assembly polls.
His supporters argue that Shivakumar was always loyal to the party and took up the mantle of state president in 2020 at a time when no one was willing to lead the party into 2023 elections.
To underscore their claim, the Shivakumar loyalists are arguing that most of Siddaramaiah’s close aides are from his erstwhile party Janata Dal, which he left for the Congress in 2006, and the latter failed to recognise and reward any original party worker. The deputy CM is also likely to rake up the allegations of irregularities in MUDA land allocation to buttress his claim.