May 29, 2026 20:20 pm IST

DK Shivakumar's Agenda: Cabinet Picks, Power Play And Managing Siddaramaiah

Ramakrishna Upadhya Ramakrishna Upadhya Columnist

Ramakrishna Upadhya Columnist

With DK Shivakumar, the quintessential organisational man, mostly likely to take over as the new chief minister of Karnataka, the question uppermost on everyone's mind is: can he lift a fatigued Congress government out of its stupor and give it a second wind in time for the next assembly elections in 2028?

Or, will his immediate predecessor Siddaramaiah's sense of bitterness arising out of being "let down" by the party high command create impediments in Shivakumar's path to bring about drastic changes?

The Congress's history in Karnataka is replete with instances of top-level rivalry resulting in muddled politics that took the party downhill to the advantage of the opposition. The events of 1990s serve as a timely reminder: a seasoned leader, Veerendra Patil's unfortunate exit due to a sudden medical condition resulted in the high command taking one bad decision after another in putting S Bangarappa and Veerappa Moily on the chief minister's chair, ignoring several veterans, which included SM Krishna, Mallikarjun Kharge and Dharam Singh. The Congress paid a heavy price as it was banished from power for a decade thereafter.

But, this time, a quick and decisive manner in which the transition from Siddaramaiah to Shivakumar was effected, suggests that the Congress high command has learnt its lessons and begun to operate the levers of power at a different level.

A Well-Choreographed Act

In this era of 24x7 television coverage, Rahul Gandhi's mandarins left nothing to chance. Apparently, tough messages had been delivered to both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar's camps, with every move neatly scripted and choreographed: Siddaramaiah holding a breakfast meeting with his cabinet colleagues where he announced his decision to resign; Shivakumar on entering Siddaramaiah's house, touching his feet and being blessed by the senior man.

Despite the absence of the governor, Siddaramaiah, accompanied by Shivakumar and other senior ministers, went to the Lok Bhavan and gave his resignation to........

© NDTV