Karnataka Minister hints at political shake-up, says big changes after September

Karnataka Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna has reignited speculation over a possible political reshuffle in the state, hinting at “significant” developments after September. Addressing the media, Rajanna remarked, “Let September pass; it’s going to be significant for political developments in the state. A lot of changes are likely after September.”

His comments come amid ongoing murmurs of discord within the Congress party. Earlier in the day, Rajanna pointed to the emergence of several “power centres” within the party’s Karnataka unit, contrasting it with the earlier period between 2013 and 2018. “Between 2013 and 2018, there was just one power centre. Today, there are one, two, three and several power centres,” he said. Without naming individuals, he added that this proliferation of authority had increased the “push and pull” within the party, indicating internal tensions and difficulty in decision-making.

He continued, “Now the state president (DK Shivakumar) is one power centre. There is also a power centre in Delhi which wants to take us on a right path. With multiple power centres it will be difficult to take immediate decisions unilaterally.”

Rajanna said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah now faces the challenge of managing both governance and the party. He also remarked that many believe Siddaramaiah’s leadership today is not what it was during his previous tenure. “From 2013 to 2018, Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister and he was the only power centre. G Parameshwara and Dinesh Gundu Rao were the party presidents during that tenure and all decisions used to happen with consensus,” he said.

His remarks come at a time when there is already growing talk within political circles of a potential change in the Chief Minister’s post later this year, based on an alleged power-sharing arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. While such speculation has been largely put on hold following firm instructions from the Congress high command, the undercurrent of internal differences remains.

Meanwhile, two Congress MLAs publicly endorsed Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar as the state’s future Chief Minister.

On Tuesday, MLA Basavaraj Shivaganga lent his support to Shivakumar earlier this week, adding momentum to speculation of a leadership change. “What is written in fate, we do not know. We will talk about this after December. If our leader becomes the Chief Minister, it is as good as me becoming one. Let us discuss this again after December,” Shivaganga said, hinting at a possible shift in power towards the end of the year.

On Monday, MLA Iqbal Hussain also caused a stir by declaring, “Shivakumar will definitely become Chief Minister, 200%,” swearing “on God Mahadevappa” that the Congress would win over 140 seats in the next assembly election and form the government under Shivakumar’s leadership.

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