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23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Fractured Crown

Between Siddaramaiah’s grip on power and Shivakumar’s restless ambition, the Karnataka Congress is trapped in a succession spiral. Karnataka Karnataka today has two chief ministers - one by office, the other by expectation. The power tussle between Siddaramaiah and his deputy, D.K. Shivakumar, has slipped so completely into the open that the Congress’s ritual denials sound like political farce. A whispered ‘understanding’ after the 2023 victory that each would get the CM’s post after...

Fractured Crown

Between Siddaramaiah’s grip on power and Shivakumar’s restless ambition, the Karnataka Congress is trapped in a succession spiral. Karnataka Karnataka today has two chief ministers - one by office, the other by expectation. The power tussle between Siddaramaiah and his deputy, D.K. Shivakumar, has slipped so completely into the open that the Congress’s ritual denials sound like political farce. A whispered ‘understanding’ after the 2023 victory that each would get the CM’s post after two-and-a-half years has hardened into a public confrontation between a chief minister determined to finish five years and a deputy increasingly unwilling to wait. The recent breakfast meeting between the two men at Siddaramaiah’s residence was presented as a truce where the ‘high command’ was invoked as the final arbiter. “There are no differences between us,” Siddaramaiah insisted, twice for emphasis. Few were convinced and soon, Shivakumar was again hinting darkly at change. For weeks, Shivakumar’s loyalists have been holding meetings, mobilising legislators and making pilgrimages to Delhi to get the Congress high command to honour its promise. They insist that the Congress leadership agreed to a rotational chief ministership in 2023 and that November 2025 was always meant to mark Shivakumar’s ascent. The high command, for its part, has perfected the art of strategic vagueness by neither confirming nor denying the pact. This suggests that the Congress does not merely hesitate to act against Siddaramaiah, but increasingly lacks the capacity to do so. From the outset of his second innings, Siddaramaiah has given no signal of easing aside. As he approaches January 2026, poised to overtake D. Devaraj Urs as Karnataka’s longest-serving chief minister, the symbolism is unmistakable. The mantle of social justice politics that Urs once embodied now firmly sits on Siddaramaiah’s shoulders. And it is this social coalition that shields him. His fortress is AHINDA - minorities, backward classes and Dalits. Leaked figures from the unreleased caste census suggest that these groups together approach or exceed two-thirds of the state’s population. Lingayats and Vokkaligas, once electorally dominant, are rendered numerical minorities in this arithmetic. Siddaramaiah governs not merely as a Congress leader, but as the putative custodian of Karnataka’s demographic majority. That claim is reinforced through policy. Minority scholarships have been revived, contractor quotas restored, residential schools expanded. More than Rs. 42,000 crore has been earmarked for Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Kurubas, his own community, have been pitched for Scheduled Tribe status, with careful assurances that their elevation will not disadvantage others. DK Shivakumar brings organisational muscle, financial clout and control over the Vokkaliga heartland. In electoral campaigns, these are formidable assets. But in a confrontation with a leader who embodies a 60–70 percent social coalition, they are blunt instruments. The Congress high command understands this equation, even if it publicly pretends otherwise. It also remembers, uneasily, what Siddaramaiah did the last time his authority was constrained. In 2020, when the Congress–JD(S) coalition collapsed after 16 MLAs defected to Mumbai,13 of them hailed from Siddaramaiah’s camp. At the time, he held the post of coordination committee chairman. Instead, he emerged as the principal beneficiary of collapse, returning as Leader of the Opposition with a tighter grip on the party. If the Congress high command could not punish him then, it is doubtful it can coerce him now. Shivakumar’s predicament is thus more tragic than tactical. He is not battling a rival alone, but an entire political structure built to outlast him. The promised coronation looks increasingly like a mirage drifting just ahead of a man condemned to keep walking. For the Congress, the cost of this paralysis is already visible. A government elected on guarantees and governance is consumed by succession. The party’s authority is dissolving while its factions harden. The Congress returned to power in Karnataka after years in the wilderness, only to re-enact the same leadership dysfunction that has crippled it elsewhere. Regardless of whether Siddaramaiah survives this storm, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Congress cannot survive the slow corrosion of its command in one of the few states it holds today.

Over Systemic Bias

The Waqf Bill is more than legislation—it marks a turning point from divisive ideologies to inclusive development and national unity, impacting marginalised communities the most.

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After passing from both houses of Parliament, the Waqf Amendment Bill is now going to the President for the purpose of making a law. This bill, the second and biggest and most important after the Universal Common Civil Code, can be said to be the victory of ideology over the working system of a particular person. In our country, different views prevail from time to time regarding ideology. The working style of a political party and the ideology of a person of the same party may be different.


From the time India became independent to the time of the partition of the country, the thinking of the people has been seen to be diverse many times in the entire timeline. From the class considered the devotees of the Father of the Nation, Gandhiji, to the society considered prestigious today, the journey of this ideology has been continuous.


The ideological threads are connected all the way back to the French Revolution. In our country, the most controversy and discord have been noted between the lefties and the right wings, but between these two electric currents flows the society that has been most affected the Dalit society. There have been cases in our country where the entire society has often been victimised in the battle of ideology. Due to the ideology of the Left, it was the turn of suffering, efforts against injustice and justice fell short. After 2014, when the politics of development started, the quality of life of Dalits improved due to their basic needs. In particular, accurate and fruitful work was done on employment, primary facilities, and untouchability.


When one thinks before drinking water from home, a saint like MorariBapu proves that everyone is equal and harmonious in the country. Gandhiji also had special respect for Haribandhu. The policy of divide and rule was not only of the British. The Lefties had disrupted the flow of the ideology of harmony many times by making false announcements. Where there is a question of national interest, there should be no category. Prime Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi has proved this.


The changes brought about by the ease of employment, transparency, and necessary schemes, not only in the Dalit community. There was also a big change in the lives of families living in border areas. The last village of the state or the country became the first village. This was a communication of a positive ideology. Not only Dalits but every society accepted it and showed agreement on the path from public interest to national interest. From the sweeper to the sanitary inspector, from the administrative branch to trade and commerce, the benefits of development and the changes made from the ground up have benefitted everyone, which was not the case under the rule of the Lefties.


There is a big difference between talking and doing effective work during elections. The work starts with the system and the results obtained through joint efforts. have also become much easier now. While expanding the scope of the issue of relaxation, Modi ji gave a new direction to the youth by giving importance to their talent. After that, no matter what class you belong to. Not from Dalit or minority class, if you have skills, this world is yours. The Modi government started providing basic infrastructure, resources, and necessary space.


The time after the year 2016 became like a golden age for art and people with a special style of work. Handicraft fairs were started so that the families running Gujarat from home industries in rural areas could sell their products on a global scale. In which the participation of states increased, geographical limitations did not become a hindrance to any particular art. A new ideology for local to global encouraged every class. In which the youth got a big opportunity. Got big work. Thus changing the quality of life of a family.


Instead of ideological battles, it is an initiative to walk on the path of development through dialogue and peace. Which is not limited to any one society. Where it is a matter of explaining to people who do wrong politics on the issue of religion through legal reforms, it is not right to make society a shield. A country is built through the organisation of society. A country develops when a society develops. Instead of separating into small pieces, the aim of every society should be to come together and contribute to nation-building.


(The author is a professional based in Ahmedabad. Views personal.)

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