Hours after resigning as Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar (DKS), widely seen as his likely successor, left separately for New Delhi on 28 May.
The two leaders are expected to meet the Congress leadership in New Delhi today, even as an official announcement on Siddaramaiah’s successor is awaited.
A special flight carrying Congress leader Siddaramaiah, his son, Yathindra, and party national general secretary, Randeep Singh Surjewala, besides others, made a landing in Jaipur instead of New Delhi due to bad weather on Thursday, the Chief Minister’s Office said. Siddaramaiah met former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot in Jaipur.
Discussions related to the selection of the new Congress Legislature Party leader, the composition of the ministry and other organisational matters, including the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president’s post currently held by Shivakumar, are likely to take place during the Delhi visit, according to a PTI report citing unnamed sources.
The new government may have two or three deputy chief ministers, including a Lingayat and a Dalit face, according to media reports. Clarity on these issues, however, is expected within a day or two.
The Congress Legislature Party elects its leader, who is then chosen as the chief minister.
Siddaramaiah submitted his resignation to the Governor’s Special Secretary at Lok Bhavan on Thursday afternoon. Special Secretary Prabhu Shankar received the resignation in the absence of Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.
The Breakfast Meeting
Earlier in the day, during a breakfast meeting hosted at his residence for cabinet colleagues, Siddaramaiah informed ministers of his decision to step down and indicated that DKS would succeed him, in line with the directions of the Congress high command, according to several ministers who attended the meeting.
Pictures of the two leaders embracing after the meeting further fuelled buzz around the transition. However, when asked about the next chief minister during a press conference, Siddaramaiah said, “Whoever the legislature party and the high command decide will be the chief minister of the state.”
When former Congress MP DK Suresh was asked about his brother, Shivakumar, becoming the next CM of Karnataka, he responded: “Let us wait for the party’s decision.”
The developments leading to the resignation follow the Congress high command asking Siddaramaiah to make way for a leadership change in the state and offering him a role at the national level in the party, along with a Rajya Sabha seat. However, Siddaramaiah has not accepted the offer so far.
Siddaramaiah reportedly decided to step down after senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi conveyed the message to him directly.
Why Siddaramaiah resigned?
The Congress high command summoned Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to Delhi on Tuesday. Siddaramaiah’s decision to step down followed back-to-back meetings at the Congress headquarters with Rahul Gandhi, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, and party general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.
The Congress party’s top leadership reportedly asked Siddaramaiah to resign during these meetings.
At the core of the leadership tangle in Karnataka is Shivakumar’s demand to be elevated to the chief minister’s post, a promise his supporters claim during the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections.
The leadership tussle within the ruling party had intensified amid speculation about a possible change of chief minister after the Congress government completed the halfway mark of its five-year term on 20 November 2025.