Siddaramaiah Set For National Role Paving Way For DK Shivakumar As Karnataka CM? 'Elevate-Exit' Theory Sparks Political Storm

The Karnataka power tussle has been brewing since the 2023 state assembly poll. While earlier it was reported that DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah would share the CM post for 2.5 years each, the Congress high-command has now firmly backed Sidda but DK reportedly is not leaving anything to fate now.

Karnataka Power Tussle: The 'Game of Thrones' in Karnataka is not going to end soon. While Congress has backed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar is getting support not only from party MLAs but also from the sheers of popular matthas. Amid this, the Congress party's decision to nominate Siddaramaiah to an advisory council of Congress's OBC department - Backwards Classes Advisory Committee - has sparked fresh debate while giving the BJP a fresh chance to predict the leadership change.

The BJP has claimed that the Congress is taking a leaf out of its old rule book, where it elevates state leaders to the central level to remove them from the state politics, and the same happened with Mallikarjun Kharge as well. Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy told NDTV that Kharge was pulled to Delhi in 2013 and has now turned into a rubber stamp, and it's now Siddaramaiah's turn to become one.  

It's being speculated that Congress may shift Siddaramaiah to Delhi and may hand over the reins to DK Shivakumar, who has been pushing hard for a long time to get the top post. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has clarified the confusion surrounding his appointment as the chairman of the All India Congress Committee's (AICC) Other Backwards Classes (OBC) Advisory Council. According to Siddaramaiah, he is yet to receive official confirmation about his appointment.

He, however, maintained that if orders are given to him by the party's high command, he would readily accept the responsibility. Talking to reporters in Hubballi, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said that he is going to hold talks with the party's high command regarding his responsibility in the committee.

The news of Siddaramaiah's appointment comes amid Bharatiya Janata Party claiming that Karnataka will have a change in the CM's face, with state LoP R Ashoka claiming that the Congress leader will be leaving for Delhi, leaving the CM's chair vacant. "Siddaramaiah has been nominated as the president of the AICC OBC Advisory Board. That means Siddaramaiah's gate pass is guaranteed. He is 100% going to Delhi in October or November. So, here, the CM will change. What I have known for the last six months is now proven," Karnataka Assembly's Leader of Opposition (LoP) R Ashoka told ANI.

Earlier on June 9, AICC's OBC department Chairman Anil Jaihind recommended a list of 25 names for the Advisory Council for the party's OBC department. The list includes multiple veteran Congress leaders, and Karnataka ministers. Apart from Siddaramaiah, BK Hariprasad, Ashok Ghelot, Bhupesh Baghel, V Narayanswamy, Sachin Pilot, Gurdeep Singh Sappal, Arun Yadav, Vijay Namdebrao Wadettiwar, V Hanumantha Rao, Amit Chavda, Mahesh Kumar Goud, Ponnam Prabhakar, M Veerappa Molly, S Jothimani, Srikant Jena, Kamleshwar Patel, Ajay Kumar Lallu, Subhashini Yadav, Adoor Prakash, Dhanednra Sahu, Hina Kaware are in the committee, with Jitender Baghel being the council's Secretary. (With ANI inputs)