Siddaramaiah is out. The state of Karnataka has a new man in its waiting list for the top job. This week, the battle within the state Congress finally came to an end, with D.K. Shivakumar becoming the new chief minister. It did not occur instantly. It had been months in the making. In New Delhi on May 26 it was the Congress high command who pulled the trigger.
Party president Mallikarjun Kharge sat in that closed-door meeting. So did Rahul Gandhi and K.C. Venugopal. They said that Siddaramaiah’s time was up and he was to step aside. The veteran politician presented his resignation to the special secretary at Lok Bhavan, Bengaluru on Thursday. At the time, Gov. Thaawarchand Gehlot was in Indore. The official announcement was made the next day.
Article 164 covers the Governor’s role.The role of the Governor is covered in Article 164.
This puts the Indian Constitution right into the picture. It was Friday morning when the governor officially took over. Gehlot invoked Article 164(1) to take the resignation. The wording of the law is strict. It was to dissolve the entire council of ministers at once.
However, without a head, a State cannot operate. Siddaramaiah will stay on as the caretaker chief minister. He will hold the fort, pending the organization of the new government. The governor has the same power to appoint the chief minister as given in Article 164 and the same power to remove the ministers as mentioned in Article 164. Paperwork is completed. They’ve made a commitment to transition.They have a commitment to transition. Now the machinery of the state waits for Shivakumar’s oath.
A Deal Made Three Years Ago
Let’s take a look at May 2023. In the State elections, the Congress had won against the BJP. Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were looking to take the top post. The fight was very tough. The party had to resort to days of intense negotiations in Delhi to placate them.
They entered into a pact that was not known to anyone but them. Shivakumar went for the deputy, and he waited. According to sources, just three people were present in the room at the time of the final deal: Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. The deal was a no-brainer. Divide the five-year period. Siddaramaiah got the first three years.
His government was very much based around his AHINDA political base. This is the ragtag band of minorities, backward classes and Dalits. Siddaramaiah is from the Kuruba community. Social justice became his political calling card. He advocated five great guarantee schemes. He said that the police must not continue to implement the zero-traffic protocol for his security personnel’s travel in Bengaluru as it had led to really horrific traffic jams. He even did a U-turn on the previous government’s ban on wearing the hijab in classrooms, and changed it to a new rule that permits the wearing of the limited traditional symbols.
However, the clock was still ticking. Shivakumar’s team started yelling. The strain spilled out into the open. Last November, in a post on X “word power is world power,” Shivakumar said. This was a face-to-face attack. Siddaramaiah lashed out at him online. A word is not power unless it better the world for the people, he said. The warning sign was a bad one. The sharing of power was on the verge of breaking down and the transition was destined to happen.
The Breakfast Meeting
It was a quiet Thursday morning. Siddaramaiah called his cabinet for breakfast. He broke the news. He informed his ministers that the higher authority has decided.
The optics mattered. Shivakumar was in the room. He walked over and touched Siddaramaiah’s feet. It was a very public tribute of respect. A clear message to the ranks of the parties that the battle was won. Earlier the protesters from the AHINDA groups were holding rallies. They warned the party not to remove their leader. The public display of breakfast was intended to dampen the rage. It showed unity.
This is a rejection of the National Stage.This is a rejection of the National Stage.
This time, Delhi made a valiant effort to cushion the blow. The Congress top brass put a Rajya Sabha seat on the table. They wanted to promote him to the national level. It was a plan to get his massive OBC appeal to carry out national campaigns, which will also keep him away from Shivakumar in Bengaluru.
He flat out refused.
Siddaramaiah was immediately put on the spot after he stepped down from the post. His replies were quite harsh. He said he resigned only because he was told to do so by the high command. No other reason. He then put a stop to the rumours that were doing the rounds in the Rajya Sabha. He has no interest at all in a national role,” he said. He wants to remain in active politics in Karnataka itself. He is 78 years old. He has started from scratch in the assembly since he entered in 1983. He certainly doesn’t want to be “quietly retired” to Delhi
Weather Delays and Jaipur Meetings
But the drama was far from over after the resignation letter. There was much commotion in the skies above. Both leaders had to be here in Delhi to work out the new Cabinet. Shivakumar made it to the capital late Thursday night. He informed the waiting reporters of the bad turbulence.
Siddaramaiah was worse off. His flight was forced off course due to bad weather over Delhi. Instead, he ended up in Jaipur. He was greeted by the former Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot at the airport. Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala was there too. Siddaramaiah shared his experience of the warm meeting on X. It took until the clouds would part for the new government to get the heavy lifting done.
Looking at the New Cabinet
The next government is now the topic, and it’s all about the shape of that new government. We are sure that Shivakumar is going to be the chief minister. That’s where it is, that’s where it stays. A different cabinet, though, is coming up next.
A significant number of those who were on the team that went before will be fired. The party would like to make a significant reshuffle to restore balance. They are mulling four appointments to be deputy chief ministers. It’s a game of math with no word parts required. It is a balancing act for the conflicting caste and regional needs in Karnataka.
The party is also considering the house of representatives math. Soon four seats in the Karnataka Rajya Sabha are up for grabs. The Congress has the numbers to comfortably win two of them. They’re trying to find additional votes to lock up a third. To win those seats, there must be a united front. A divided state unit in the voting process would be too expensive to the party.
