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Correspondent

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.

Overworked, Overstretched

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, has long been known for his relentless work ethic, but this dedication has come at a cost. Overexertion has taken its toll on Shinde’s health, forcing him to cancel a crucial cabinet meeting before the model code of conduct ahead of the Assembly election comes into effect and prompting doctors to advise complete rest. This is not the first time the CM has been unwell due to his exhausting schedule, but the recent episode underscores a growing concern: Shinde may be pushing himself beyond his limits.


Well before he staged his coup to become CM, Shinde has cultivated ‘a man of action’ persona: during the 2018 Kerala floods, he reached the water-logged state with boxes of medicines and first-aid tools. Since taking office in June 2022, Shinde has been a man in perpetual motion. Immediately after taking oath as Chief Minister, his schedule had been a whirlwind of tours, meetings, and late-night trips to Delhi. This punishing schedule has continued ever since. His supporters point to his hands-on approach, whether visiting flood-hit regions or overseeing relief efforts in landslide-stricken areas, as evidence of a leader who leads from the front. In one moving instance, in July 2023, Shinde did not merely review the situation in Irshalwadi, a village buried by a landslide; he climbed the steep ascent in torrential rain to reach the settlement, directing rescue operations to show solidarity with rescue workers.


 This ‘field-man’ persona has earned him praise, but has also raised concerns about sustainability. Shinde’s determination to be everywhere has left him sleep-deprived, with his public engagements often stretching into the early hours. His insistence on connecting with every constituent, addressing even minor grievances, has endeared him to the public but strained his physical well-being. Even senior figures in Maharashtra’s government have noticed the toll his work habits are taking.


Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar recently admonished his own party workers for extracting too much work from Shinde. Despite this, Shinde continues to take on more than most politicians would dare. He frequently visits disaster-hit areas in person, often stepping into roles that could easily be delegated to local officials. His recent visit to the site of a fire accident in Chembur, for instance, could have been handled by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner, but Shinde chose to lead from the front, underscoring his desire to remain connected with the grassroots. The CM’s gruelling pace has now raised concerns about his ability to continue at such a breakneck speed. While his loyalists argue that this commitment is a testament to his rise from the ranks, it is evident that such a schedule is unsustainable. For all his devotion to the role, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister may need to learn that even the most dedicated leaders require rest.

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