Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar Seal 2026 Power Transition in Crucial Breakfast Meet

Senior Congress sources have confirmed that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar held a crucial breakfast meeting at the official Cauvery Residence today morning, where they finalised a clear roadmap for power transition, with Shivakumar scheduled to take over as Chief Minister between March and April 2026.

The meeting, outwardly portrayed as a routine exchange over traditional Karnataka breakfast of idli, upma, and kesari bath, was accompanied by coordinated social media posts emphasising unity and state priorities. Behind the carefully crafted optics, however, the two leaders reached a binding compromise that formally ends the prolonged internal tussle for supremacy in the state unit.

Under the agreed formula, Siddaramaiah will complete a respectable tenure without being abruptly dislodged, preserving his stature and preventing any public embarrassment for the party in one of its only two large states where it holds power.

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For Shivakumar, the deal delivers certainty: he continues as Karnataka Congress president, secures additional cabinet positions for his supporters in the imminent reshuffle, and most importantly, gets Siddaramaiah’s active endorsement for the succession—an assurance that significantly strengthens his position against potential opposition from the Chief Minister’s camp.

The arrangement delicately maintains Karnataka’s sensitive caste balance—safeguarding the AHINDA coalition led by Siddaramaiah while protecting Vokkaliga interests represented by Shivakumar. With the Deputy Chief Minister flying to Delhi this evening to brief the party high command, Congress leaders believe the succession plan is now irreversible and will be executed without further drama.

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