Power clash in Karnataka live: DK Shivakumar meets Siddaramaiah for breakfast amid CM change buzz

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Updated on: May 27, 2026 9:04:47 AM IST

Power struggle in Karnataka live: The party said the discussions were on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Karnataka Legislative Assembly polls. Siddaramaiah also denied reports of discussions on changing the chief minister.

3 minutes agoThe Rajya Sabha is likely to move from Siddaramaiah
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22 minutes ago“Discussions on upcoming Rajya Sabha elections,” Congress says.
22 minutes agoDK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah meet senior Congress leaders
30 minutes agoDK Shivakumar meets Siddaramaiah for breakfast amidst CM change buzz

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

Power struggle in Karnataka live: Amid strong buzz of leadership change in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to meet his deputy DK Shivakumar for breakfast on Thursday morning. The two leaders met senior Congress leaders on Tuesday in Delhi, after which Shivakumar was invited for breakfast by the Prime Minister at his Kaveri residence.

Similar developments took place in 2025 as well, when Siddaramaiah completed two-and-a-half years as chief minister, sparking a buzz about a change in leadership. At the time, sources told HT that the chief minister had urged Shivakumar to take over the top job after the next Assembly elections in the state in 2028.

Tuesday’s meeting in New Delhi was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharg, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala, among others.

The party said the discussions revolved around the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Karnataka Legislative Assembly polls. Siddaramaiah also denied reports of discussions about changing the chief minister, people familiar with the matter said.

Senior party brass, including Gandhi and Karji, had several hours of discussions with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, apart from meeting them separately, and are likely to take a call on a possible change of guard in the state after the Rajya Sabha elections, scheduled for next month, Press TI reported citing sources.

Will Siddaramaiah be replaced?

The above-mentioned people told Kharge to Siddaramaiah that the latter needs to step down and make way for new leadership. However, the 77-year-old leader refused to comply immediately and instead asked for two days to make a decision. The above persons also said that Siddaramaiah was reluctant to hand over his duties to Shivakumar but Kharge told him that the choice of successor was not his.

Siddaramaiah may also be offered a formula in which he steps down in exchange for a Rajya Sabha seat and a possible ministerial post for his son Yatindra – a member of the state legislative council – in return.

After the Congress party scored its biggest victory in a generation in Karnataka in 2023, the government has been mired in tensions over the top job. Siddaramaiah, who has served as chief minister twice and built a popular coalition of backwards, Dalits and Muslims that propelled the Congress to a rare victory over the BJP, agreed to swap power midway through the five-year term, but has so far blocked Shivakumar, the party’s chief reformer and election financier, the people cited above said.

To keep Shivakumar waiting again?

People familiar with the matter told HT that even if the Congress can convince Siddaramaiah to take the Rajya Sabha route, it may not be willing to see Shivakumar succeed him.

In this case, the Congress may field Mallikarjun Kharge as a compromise candidate for the chief minister’s post, also paving the way for Rahul Gandhi to field KC Venugopal as the next party president and opening up the central party organization to a much-needed overhaul.

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May 27, 2026 9:04:46 AM

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Karnataka power struggle live: The new buzz suggests that Siddaramaiah may finally step aside, with a Bihar-like strategy. Here’s what the Congress leadership might offer the Prime Minister to leave the key role, according to people familiar with the matter:

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Possible treasury berth for his son Yatindra

This arrangement, if implemented, would be eerily similar to what happened in Bihar a few weeks ago.

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