BENGALURU: As Congress leaders in New Delhi work through competing demands over the leadership structure in Karnataka, a parallel contest has begun to take shape within the party, a race to succeed DK Shivakumar as Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief if the current power-sharing discussions eventually change the state’s political hierarchy.
The question of who controls the Congress organization in Karnataka has moved to the center of internal consultations along with speculation about a possible transition process involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar.
Party leaders familiar with the discussions said the Congress high command is trying to avoid a protracted communal standoff by following calibration arrangements rather than reforming the disruptive leadership. Within this practice, the position of Chairman of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation emerged as a crucial position for balancing the two competing camps.
Among the leaders who have gained traction in internal discussions is Satish Jarkiholi, who is viewed by many Congress functionaries as an acceptable organizational figure capable of maintaining working relationships between factions.
Jarkiholi, who is currently the working president of the Karnataka Congress, has publicly admitted that there are talks about the organizational position.
“If the party leaders ask me to take any responsibility, I will think about it and convey my opinion to the high command,” he told reporters in Delhi on Tuesday, adding that there were no formal discussions yet regarding KPCC chairmanship.
Earlier this year, Jarkiholi had also indicated that changes within the Karnataka Congress organization seemed likely. “A change in the leadership of the Anti-Corruption Commission is necessary and inevitable,” he said in April, adding that the final decision would be in the hands of the party’s top leadership.
Congress leaders say Jarkiholi’s administrative experience, sociability and relatively non-confrontational image have strengthened his standing within the party at a time when the leadership is searching for balance between rival groups.
A senior Congress functionary said the next KPC chief will play a central role in managing organizational cohesion and election preparations ahead of the 2028 Assembly polls. “Satish Jarkiholi is being seriously discussed as he has administrative experience, organizational exposure and support among backward classes, Dalits and tribal communities. The party also considers him as someone who does not create resistance among factions,” said the leader, requesting anonymity.
Apart from Jarkiholi, several other Congress leaders are also being informally discussed as potential contenders for the organizational post.
Industry Minister MP Patel has figured in internal talks because of his standing among Lingayat leaders and his organizational connections within the party.
Former Bengaluru rural MP DK Suresh, Shivakumar’s brother, is also among the names being discussed by leaders close to the deputy chief minister. Some party insiders believe his appointment could help maintain organizational influence if the party eventually separates government and organizational leadership. Others secretly fear that such a move could deepen divisions between factions within the state unit.
Some Congress leaders are also looking at Home Secretary J. Parameshwara was seen as a potential consensus candidate due to his previous tenure as KPCC president and his long association with the organisation. But party insiders said ministerial responsibilities and shifting class calculus could complicate such a move.
