Karnataka power tussle: Siddaramaiah resigns as CM, makes way for Shivakumar
Earlier in the day at a breakfast hosted at his residence for Cabinet colleagues, Siddaramaiah informed ministers of his decision to step down and that Deputy CM Shivakumar will be his successor
Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he has resigned from the post of Karnataka Chief Minister.
Announcing his resignation at a packed press conference, the 77-year-old leader said that since Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot was not in the town, he handed over his resignation letter to the Governor's special secretary Prabhu Shankar.
Deputy CM D K Shivakumar and other Cabinet colleagues accompanied Siddaramaiah as he tendered his resignation.
“I have tendered my resignation from the Chief Minister's post. I am confident the Governor would accept my resignation as per Constitutional provisions,” he said.
Siddaramaiah said he had stated repeatedly that he would resign whenever the high command instructed him.
“The high command directed me two days ago to step down, and accordingly, I have submitted my resignation today. I got the opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka twice, for which I thank Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi & Mallikarjun Kharge,” Siddaramaiah added.
Earlier in the day at a breakfast hosted at his residence for Cabinet colleagues, Siddaramaiah informed ministers of his decision to step down and that Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar will be his successor, as per the directions of the Congress high command.
The announcement was greeted with cheers by the supporters of Shivakumar, the prominent Vokkaliga leader of the Congress and the state unit chief.
The announcement came after several months of deliberations capped by a final round of meetings in Delhi where Siddaramaiah was convinced to step down and accept a Central role as a Rajya Sabha MP.
The leaders of Congress are learnt to have reminded Siddaramaiah of the promise of CM-ship rotation after two-and-a-half years of government. This period ended in November 2025 and Shivakumar’s supporters had been exerting pressure on the Congress to make the switch.
Interestingly, ahead of resigning, Siddaramaiah accepted the much-awaited report of caste census in Karnaraka. This has revealed that Vokkaligas and Lingayats are no longer the state’s dominant communities. The most dominant are SCs followed by Muslims, Lingayatats, Vokkaligas, Kurubas and STs in that order.
Siddaramaiah is an OBC Kuruba leader, a popular mass face in the state, and it remains to be seen how Rahul Gandhi negotiates the Congress politics after asking senior OBC stalwart Siddaramaiah to make way for an upper caste Shivakumar.
Rahul’s recent politics has centred on the OBC matrix and he has often questioned the BJP in Parliament as to how many OBC CMs the party has.
Now, after Rahul has himself stamped the replacement of an OBC CM in Karnataka, the BJP is sure to make it a poll and political issue. The Congress had won Karnataka in 2023. — with PTI
