It has now been months since rumours of a switch in leadership of Karnataka Congress government have been floating around and they are not showing signs of dying down any time soon. There have been speculations that at the time of forming the government, there was an informal agreement that there will be a rotational CM and Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar will take charge for 2.5 years each.
The government hit 2.5 years mark last year and since then, rumours of a switch have been circulating. However, the party High Command has been unable to put these rumours to rest despite meeting the two Karnataka politics stalwarts multiple times during that period. From time to time, DK Shivakumar’s supporters put up posters calling for him to be appointed the CM, including one last week. However, for now, he continues to serve as the Deputy CM.
Now, the rumour mill is abuzz again after CM Siddaramaiah has been summoned to Delhi. The CM will reach Delhi on Monday, May 25, and will meet the Party High Command the next day, May 26.
Notably, DK Shivakumar has also been asked to come to Delhi for a meeting with the top brass of the Congress party.
While Congress leader Ramesh Babu has said that it is a routine visit related to the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, speculation has been rife that the Karnataka CM has been summoned to discuss the Karnataka leadership tussle.
Ramesh Babu told news agency ANI, “It is a routine work. Since Rajya Sabha election has been notified, we have to select the 3 candidates from the party in the state. In a couple of days, the MLC election is also going to be conducted in the state and 7 members have to be elected from the Assembly… We have to conduct an Assembly session in Karnataka. This is why CM and the Dy CM are going to meet our party leaders in Delhi… They need to discuss some issues with the AICC.”
#WATCH | Bengaluru | On Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to meet the Congress leadership in Delhi, Congress leader Ramesh Babu says, "It is a routine work. Since Rajya Sabha election has been notified, we have to select the 3 candidates from the party in the state. In a couple of days,… pic.twitter.com/FN03nmLhZs
— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2026
However, CM Siddaramaiah said that he doesn’t know what is the subject of this discussion. He said, “I have been summoned to Delhi but I don’t know the subject of the discussion. I have a meeting scheduled at 11am tomorrow [Tuesday]. Venugopal called me to attend the meeting. Speculations will always be there.”
DK Shivakumar also declined to directly address the rumours. He said, “I don’t know what Surjewala told you. If he asks me to go, I will go to Delhi. Whenever party calls, we have to go. I don’t want to comment on leadership change. It’s not my job.”
Congress High Command has failed to decisively end the uncertainty about Karnataka leadership in months. It will be interesting to see if they can finally address the issue with both power centres of Congress in Karnataka present in Delhi at the same time or will this uncertainty linger on.
