DK Shivakumar as CM: Can Congress's 'troubleshooter' win 2028 election?

DK Shivakumar’s long wait for Karnataka’s top post is finally over. After months of speculation, internal lobbying and visible tensions within the Congress, veteran leader Siddaramaiah has stepped down as Chief Minister, paving the way for his deputy to take charge ahead of the 2028 Assembly election.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Friday (May 29) accepted Siddaramaiah's resignation and dissolved the Council of Ministers headed by him.

The leadership transition, announced jointly by Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and senior minister G Parameswara on Thursday, marks the culmination of one of the most closely watched power struggles in Karnataka politics since the Congress swept the 2023 Assembly polls.

Rewarding loyalty

Speaking on Talking Sense With Srini, The Federal’s Editor-in-Chief S Srinivasan said the arrangement had likely been worked out shortly after the Congress victory in 2023 itself.

Also read: Siddaramaiah: The shepherd who rewrote Karnataka's political history

“When this Assembly convened in 2023 after the Congress victory, it was perhaps settled that after two-and-a-half years, the leadership would change,” he said.

According to him, Shivakumar’s elevation is as much about rewarding loyalty as it is about political strategy. While Siddaramaiah emerged as the face of the Congress campaign and consolidated the AHINDA social coalition of minorities, backward classes and Dalits, Shivakumar played the role of organisational strategist and crisis manager.

Congress’s ‘troubleshooter’

“A lot of the hard work was done by Shivakumar in terms of strategy, mobilising resources and keeping the party together,” Srinivasan said.

Also read: 'Siddaramaiah is a strong OBC leader, can become PM' | Capital Beat

Shivakumar, often described as the Congress party’s “troubleshooter”, has over the years handled delicate political operations across states, from safeguarding MLAs during trust votes to helping the party navigate poaching attempts by rivals. Srinivasan noted that his effectiveness during political crises earned him the trust of the Congress high command despite repeated investigations and raids by central agencies.

However, he cautioned that the Congress may also be taking a political risk by replacing Siddaramaiah before the end of the government’s term.

Can Shivakumar unify Congress?

“If the Congress had to think purely politically, they should perhaps have continued with Siddaramaiah,” he said, arguing that the outgoing chief minister remained central to the party’s backward-class mobilisation strategy.

Shivakumar now faces the challenge of balancing Karnataka’s complex caste equations while ensuring stability within the Congress legislature party, where many MLAs are believed to remain loyal to Siddaramaiah. “More than facing the BJP, his biggest challenge will be managing the Congress internally,” Srinivasan observed.

Also read: Top quotes from Siddaramaiah’s press conference after quitting as CM

With barely two years left for the next Assembly election, the Congress leadership appears keen to settle succession battles early and consolidate its social coalition well before 2028. Whether Shivakumar can unify the party while broadening its electoral appeal could ultimately determine the Congress’s future in Karnataka.