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It's 'word' war between Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar: CM lays claim to ‘five full years’ as Karnataka Cong turmoil deepens
Siddaramaiah deploys vocabulary similar to DKS's, lists work he plans to do in remainder of the term — another assertion that he's is no mood to make way
More shots were fired by both sides — Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar — as turmoil within the Congress over the top post intensified in public on Thursday, November 27.
In the latest, both sides are harping on the value of one's “word”, or promise.
What DKS said on ‘word’
Shivakumar or DKS, 63, widely seen as a successor to 77-year-old Siddaramaiah, first posted on X about keeping one's word. This was interpreted as a public nudge to the party leadership about its reported promise that he would be made CM for the second half of the state government's five-year term. The government completed 2.5 years on November 20.
“Keeping one's word is the greatest strength in the world!” Shivakumar's post said, "Be it a judge, president or anyone else including myself, everyone has to walk the talk. Word power is World power.”
The party has not officially said there was such a “2.5-year each” formula deployed after the election victory in 2023. But DKS recently mentioned a “secret deal”, speaking no further on it.
Sidda's ‘full term’ retort
In an apparent clapback at the “word” post, Siddaramaiah deployed similar vocabulary just hours later. He also listed work that he plans to do in the remainder of the term — another assertion that he's is no mood to quit or make way.
“The mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not a moment, but a responsibility that lasts five full years,” he wrote. “A Word is not power unless it betters the World for the people,” his post read, “Our Word to Karnataka is not a slogan, it means the World to us.”
He even referred to his earlier term as CM (2013–18) during which, he claimed, “157 of 165 promises were fulfilled with over 95% delivery”.
“In this term, 243+ promises out of 593 are already completed, and every remaining promise will be fulfilled with commitment, credibility, and care,” the CM added.
Formula at centre of feud
The “2.5-year formula” remains at the heart of the Congress crisis in Karnataka. It's a regular feature in the party's internal feuds. The party encountered this at least twice in recent years, in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. In both those states, it lost power in the elections that followed.
The formula usually means a half-and-half deal between a veteran leader and a younger successor for the CM's post.
Formula or not, feuds over generational shifts apparently hurt the party's prospects in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh too over the past decade.
In the feud between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, too, a generational shift is proving a challenge.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge — who happens to be from Karnataka and was at one time seen as a potential CM — has said that any decision would be taken solely by the high command, essentially meaning Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, besides himself. He said it need not be discussed in public.
Redux of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh?
A similar crisis took shape in the then Congress government in Rajasthan in 2020 — fundamentally a power struggle between CM Ashok Gehlot, who was close to 70, and his then deputy Sachin Pilot, who was barely 45. But Pilot could not manage the numbers despite an open rebellion. He lost his posts as deputy CM and state Congress chief, but remains loyal to the party.
In Chhattisgarh, the rivalry was between the then CM Bhupesh Baghel and his minister TS Singh Deo. Here, the CM, in his 60s now, was younger by a decade than the challenger, Deo. The “2.5-year formula”, in this case, was meant to balance factions after the 2018 election win.
TS Singh Deo did not rebel openly, preferring persistent pressure within the party. It did not work, as Baghel had control over the majority of Congress MLAs. The Gandhis did engineer a tactical truce in the June of 2023, just months before the assembly election, when TS Singh Deo was made deputy CM.
The party did not return to power in either state.
