Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar buried months of simmering tension over a carefully choreographed Bengaluru breakfast

In a carefully choreographed display of unity, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar shared a dais — and a breakfast table — Saturday morning at the chief minister’s official residence, Caavery, to declare that rumors of infighting within the state’s ruling Congress party are baseless and that the two leaders remain firmly aligned behind the party high command.

“There is no groupism in our party,” Shivakumar told reporters at a joint news conference following the meal. “Even during the time of [former chief minister] S.M. Krishna, there was no groupism, and we have not allowed it today either. I have only one group — the Congress group.”

The public reconciliation comes amid persistent speculation in Karnataka political circles that the two most powerful leaders in the state unit are maneuvering for influence ahead of the 2028 assembly elections, with Shivakumar openly aspiring to the chief minister’s post and Siddaramaiah, 77, determined to protect his legacy after returning to the top job in 2023.

Siddaramaiah, speaking first, stressed loyalty to the Congress leadership in New Delhi. “Whatever the high command decides, we will both work accordingly,” he said, adding that strengthening the party and empowering every legislator remain their shared duty.

Shivakumar went further, recalling his own patience during Siddaramaiah’s first term as chief minister (2013-2018), when he was not immediately inducted into the cabinet. “For the first six months I was not made a minister, yet I never uttered a single word of complaint,” he said. “My decision to work together is unshakable.”

The deputy chief minister revealed that Siddaramaiah will visit his home for lunch in the next day or two — a symbolic reciprocal gesture meant to underline personal bonhomie.

Both leaders framed their partnership in broader terms, portraying Karnataka as a crucial bastion for the Congress at a time when the party is struggling nationally against a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party. “The party is passing through difficult times at the national level,” Shivakumar said. “Karnataka has a major role to play. Our goal is to bring the Congress back to power in the state in 2028 and at the national level in 2029 under the leadership of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi.”

Legislative session strategy

With the winter session of the Karnataka legislature scheduled to begin December 8, the two leaders disclosed that part of Saturday’s breakfast discussion focused on countering expected aggressive tactics from the opposition BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) alliance.

“We have discussed countermeasures to whatever strategy the opposition adopts,” Shivakumar said. “We are fully capable of answering any question they raise in the House.”

On the possibility of an opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion — a perennial threat in Karnataka’s fractious politics — Shivakumar was dismissive: “They have the right to bring it as the opposition. We have the strength to face it as the ruling party.”

Delhi visit and pending state demands

Asked whether the two leaders plan to travel to New Delhi soon, Shivakumar replied that they would go if summoned by the high command. Separately, he said a visit is likely to coordinate with Karnataka’s Lok Sabha members on pressing state issues during the ongoing Parliament session, including fixing a higher minimum support price for maize and sugarcane and securing central clearances for irrigation projects.

“The central government is not extending the cooperation it should on maize,” Shivakumar charged, adding that the state will soon submit a revised detailed project report for the controversial Mekedatu balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project across the Cauvery after a favorable court ruling.

Siddaramaiah has already met Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently on these matters, Shivakumar noted, and Congress MPs will be asked to mount coordinated pressure in Parliament.

As the press conference ended with the two leaders posing for photographs side by side — a rarity in recent months — the message from Caavery was unambiguous: whatever private ambitions exist, public discord will not be tolerated, at least not yet.

For now, the Congress high command appears to have extracted a truce. Whether it holds through the coming legislative session— and beyond to 2028 — remains the question that continues to dominate political conversation in Bengaluru.