Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently made an audacious claim: that he will remain at the helm for another five years. The question is, what does he mean by this? Is he openly reneging on the reported agreement with the Congress high command to share the Chief Ministership with his ambitious deputy, DK Shivakumar? Or is this just another instance of political posturing with little regard for ground realities? Siddaramaiah’s assertion that the Congress will return to power in the next assembly elections is not just overconfident—it is laughable. The state is already reeling under the burden of misgovernance and a depleted exchequer. Add to this the visible restlessness of DK Shivakumar, who is eagerly awaiting his turn to take over. The so-called ‘gentleman’s agreement’ that was supposed to ensure a power-sharing arrangement appears to be heading toward an inevitable breakdown. Shivakumar, known for his sharp political instincts, recently made a strong statement reinforcing his Hindu identity, declaring that no one can stop him from practicing his faith. This declaration, made during his visit to Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Shivaratri celebrations, was a direct rebuttal to party voices from Delhi seeking to restrain his religious expressions. His defiance sent an unmistakable message to the Congress high command: the party’s Hindu leaders will not be muzzled.
The growing disenchantment within the Congress ranks over the party’s blatant appeasement politics is now impossible to ignore. Shivakumar’s resistance has even caught the attention of the BJP, which sees in him an unlikely but welcome critic of the Congress’s selective minority favoritism. If this shift gains traction within the opposition ranks, it could spell doom for the Congress in Karnataka. The Congress’s troubles are not limited to Karnataka. Their false narratives during the last Lok Sabha elections—fear-mongering about rewriting the Constitution and scrapping reservations—failed to stop the BJP-led NDA from securing a third consecutive term. Even in state assembly elections that followed, the Congress lost its grip, with the BJP storming back in Maharashtra and Haryana while putting up a formidable fight in Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand. With this backdrop, Siddaramaiah’s assertion that he will continue as CM for another five years seems detached from reality. The Congress is already struggling to contain growing internal dissent, and Shivakumar, who played a crucial role in the party’s last electoral victory, is not a leader to be sidelined. The high command cannot afford to ignore him, nor can they suppress his ambitions indefinitely. The DMK in Tamil Nadu is also trying to play the old game of whipping up regional sentiments with issues like the delimitation of constituencies and the so-called imposition of Hindi. But such distractions may not work anymore. The rise of nationalism and the revival of Sanatan Dharma, seen in the participation of 67 crore Hindus in the recent Mahakumbh Mela, indicates a fundamental shift in voter priorities. In this changing political landscape, Siddaramaiah’s claim of a five-year extension is not just ambitious—it is bound to backfire. The Congress’s internal contradictions, combined with its declining credibility, make it unlikely that Karnataka voters will buy into his fantasy. The real question now is not whether Siddaramaiah will last five more years, but whether he will even survive the battle within his own party. The countdown has begun. Watch closely—DK Shivakumar is no mere spectator, and the Congress in Karnataka is headed for a showdown.
