Shivakumar’s Secret Meet With Siddaramaiah Successor Jarkiholi: Exclusive On Karnataka Power Tussle

Last Updated:November 26, 2025, 12:08 IST

Karnataka leadership tussle: DK Shivakumar and Satish Jarkiholi went to an undisclosed location on late Tuesday night. The meeting went well past midnight

The power tussle between Siddaramaiah (right) and DK Shivakumar has been going on for a few months. (PTI File)

In a mega outreach amid the leadership tussle in Karnataka, deputy CM DK Shivakumar had a late-night meet with Satish Jarkiholi, who is being pushed as Siddaramaiah’s political successor.

Shivakumar and Jarkiholi went to an undisclosed location on late Tuesday night. The meeting went well past midnight.

According to his close aides, Jarkiholi said he “was trying to work out his differences with DKS". “The talks centred around preparing the party to look beyond Siddaramaiah who is staring at electoral retirement," said sources close to Shivakumar.

Last month, Yatindra Siddaramaiah had called Jarkiholi as the inheritor of Siddaramaiah’s political legacy and someone who can carry forward the AHINDA vote bank, AHINDA is a an acronym for a large caste grouping of Backward classes, Minorities and SC/ST. Talks around consolidating OBC votes and positioning of Jarkiholi as AHINDA leader are on, said sources. There are signs of major rapprochement and realignment in Karnataka Congress, said sources.

The buzz: MLAs in Delhi

According to news agency PTI, several groups of MLAs backing Shivakumar reached Delhi on Sunday night, with more expected to join them. Ten legislators have already met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, signalling heightened internal activity over the issue. Ramanagara MLA Iqbal Hussain said he was fully convinced that Shivakumar would soon be elevated. “I always stand by that statement, 200 per cent, he will become the chief minister soon. The high command will decide. As our leader (Shivakumar) said, the transfer of power is a secret deal among five to six party leaders, and those five to six people will decide," he remarked.

Jarikholi’s recent remark

Shivakumar and Jarkiholi had worked as the president and working president of the Congress in 2023.

In an indirect dig at Shivakumar, Jarkiholi on Sunday said that the party’s success was the result of collective effort of everyone – from grassroots workers to senior leaders. “Everyone has contributed equally to bringing it to power and no one individual can claim credit for it," he said.

Congress’s stance

Amid mounting speculation over a possible change in the party’s Karnataka leadership, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had asserted that the high command will decide on the Chief Ministerial face. “I have nothing to say. You have been standing here for three days straight. There is nothing to say about the developments happening here. Whatever happens, the high command will do it. It is not required to worry too much about it," he said on Tuesday.

His remarks came amid increasing speculation about a change in the CM face in Karnataka, with the “power-sharing agreement" of 2023 between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar being cited in political circles.

Another contender in the CM race

Earlier in the day, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara implied that he also remains in the Chief Ministerial race. Parameshwara’s remarks come in the backdrop of a dinner recently hosted by Congress satrap Satish Jarkiholi for leaders from the Dalit community at his residence.

“We had dinner together at Satish Jarkiholi’s (house). Is that wrong? We also talked about politics during the meeting. As ministers in the government, we discussed the works that need to be undertaken in the departments," he informed.

“I have always been in the CM race. In 2013, I was the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). We brought the Congress government to power then. I have never said that I got the government to power alone. Everyone worked together. People voted and made the party win. I was defeated at that time. I don’t know what would have happened if I had won. They give the KPCC president a chance. That is not followed in some cases," Parameshwara said.

Siddaramaiah’s stance

Siddaramaiah earlier downplayed speculation about a leadership change in the state, terming it an “unnecessary debate" and attributing it to recent discussions about a cabinet reshuffle. The CM further said that the senior party leadership would take the final decisions on the cabinet reshuffle, as 2 of the total 34 ministerial posts are vacant and would be filled during the reshuffle.

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