Karnataka CM News Live Updates: Karnataka governor accepts Siddaramaiah's resignation

Barring a last-minute surprise, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah is expected to resign on Thursday, potentially paving the way for deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar to become the next chief minister after nearly three years of internal power tussle within the Congress. Sources said Siddaramaiah has sought time to meet governor Thaawarchand Gehlot later in the day. The move would mark the end of Siddaramaiah’s second tenure as CM, during which he surpassed the record of former chief minister D Devaraj Urs in terms of time served. Congress leaders, however, have maintained official silence on Shivakumar’s elevation. The possible transition follows marathon meetings in Delhi involving Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala. The Congress high command is reportedly keen on a smooth transition to avoid factional instability ahead of future elections.

As part of the transition discussions, the Congress leadership has reportedly offered Siddaramaiah a Rajya Sabha berth along with a larger national role within the party. Sources said Rahul Gandhi personally urged the 77-year-old leader to consider shifting to Delhi politics to strengthen the Congress nationally, especially among OBC communities. However, Siddaramaiah is believed to be reluctant about moving away from Karnataka politics despite the offer. With June 8 being the final date for Rajya Sabha nominations, Congress leaders are expected to continue persuading him over the coming days. Party insiders say the leadership views Siddaramaiah as a crucial national figure whose social engineering strategies and OBC appeal could benefit the Congress at a broader level. The negotiations are also aimed at ensuring a smooth leadership transition in Karnataka without provoking resentment among Siddaramaiah loyalists.

AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala arrived in Bengaluru on Wednesday evening as the Congress leadership transition gathered pace. Surjewala is expected to oversee consultations with state leaders and coordinate the next steps of the possible change of guard. Despite intense speculation, he maintained that the Congress had not yet called a legislature party meeting and that “no other decision has been taken yet.” His visit follows marathon discussions in Delhi involving Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar. Party insiders say the central leadership is attempting to carefully manage the transition to avoid any rebellion within the Karnataka Congress. Surjewala’s presence is also being viewed as an effort to maintain communication with various factions within the party as the leadership crisis enters a decisive stage.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah is set to host a key breakfast meeting for cabinet colleagues at his official residence ‘Kaveri’ in Bengaluru amid intense speculation over his resignation and a possible leadership change in Karnataka. Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, who returned to Bengaluru late Wednesday, is expected to attend the breakfast gathering. Political observers are closely watching the meeting for signals regarding the Congress high command’s final decision. Sources said the breakfast could be followed by Siddaramaiah’s resignation meeting with governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and a later press conference. The meeting comes after high-level Congress deliberations in Delhi involving Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala. The optics of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar sharing a public platform at a crucial political moment are being viewed as an attempt to project unity amid the ongoing transition talks.

Karnataka LoP and BJP leader R. Ashoka intensified attacks on the Congress government, alleging an administrative breakdown due to the ongoing “chair fight” between CM Siddaramaiah and deputy CM D. K. Shivakumar amid speculation over a possible leadership change in the state.

“G Parameshwara, the state Home Minister, is now saying that there is no administration in Karnataka. For the last year, there has been no administration because of the chair fight between the CM and the Deputy CM. There is no governance. Every year, they are taking more than Rs 1 lakh crore in loans,” Ashoka told reporters in Hassan.

His remarks came ahead of a scheduled breakfast meeting between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar at the chief minister’s official residence in Bengaluru, which has fuelled fresh political speculation despite Congress leaders dismissing reports of any leadership transition as “speculation”.

Amid speculation that he will step down, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is likely to host a crucial breakfast meeting for his cabinet colleagues on Thursday morning, official sources said.

The urgency of the situation was highlighted by a last-minute change to Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s tour plan. Initially scheduled to return to Bengaluru this afternoon, Shivakumar revised his tour plan to leave Delhi early Thursday morning to attend the breakfast meeting at the CM's official residence here.

Speculation is mounting that Siddaramaiah will announce his resignation from the CM's post in a couple of days, mostly on Thursday, to clear the path for Shivakumar.

The development follows the Congress high command reportedly requesting a leadership change in the state and offering Siddaramaiah a central role in the party along with a Rajya Sabha seat.

As per reports, Siddaramaiah has not immediately accepted the central role.

According to PTI sources, Siddaramaiah might have resolved to step down as the message came directly from Rahul Gandhi.

The CM had been repeatedly saying that he would exit if asked by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

However, the Congress on Tuesday termed as "mere speculation" the talk about any leadership change in Karnataka and asserted that the day-long discussions between the central and state top brass were solely focused on the upcoming elections to the Rajya Sabha and the state legislative council.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were summoned to Delhi on Tuesday by the party, where there were back-to-back meetings at the Congress headquarters involving Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah and some of his cabinet colleagues, who had accompanied him to Delhi, returned to Bengaluru late last night.

He held closed-door meetings with Ministers even after arriving here, as per reports.

The CM is scheduled to attend an event on Wednesday to mark the death anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru at the state Congress office and will later pay tributes to the first Prime Minister’s statue at Vidhana Soudha. He has no other official engagements for the rest of the day, as per his schedule.

There are also reports that Venugopal and Surjewala will arrive in Bengaluru soon.

Supporters of Shivakumar have been insisting on his elevation in line with a reported power-sharing agreement with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah when the party won the 2023 Assembly elections.

The leadership tussle within the ruling party had intensified amid speculation about a possible change of chief minister after the Congress government completed the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20, 2025.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also party state president, for the chief minister's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had then managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy CM.

There were reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

With inputs from PTI.

The Congress president is set to get another Rajya Sabha term next month and many consider Siddaramaiah to be a strong possibility for LoP to help Congress with the OBC votebase.

According to sources, Rahul’s team also discussed a possible cabinet berth for Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra as part of the negotiations. The possibility of shifting the 77-year-old veteran to RS has gained momentum ahead of elections to four Upper House seats from Karnataka in June. Congress is confident of winning at least three seats.

It is to be seen if the CM quietly agrees to let Shivakumar replace him or puts up resistance that may open the way for a third candidate as a compromise. The Siddaramaiah camp maintained that he is still the overwhelming choice of the legislature party, and he submitted a list of 108 signatures to underline his pre-eminence.

Discussions between chief minister Siddaramaiah, deputy CM DK Shivakumar and Congress party high command in Delhi Tuesday left ministers and aspiring legislators in Karnataka on edge amid growing speculation of a change at the helm.

The govt completed three years in office last week, reviving a buzz over a rotational chief minister arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. Simultaneously, some MLAs began lobbying for ministerial berths, mounting pressure for a cabinet rejig.

Congress high command’s marathon meeting Tuesday over possibly replacing chief minister Siddaramaiah with his deputy DK Shivakumar is being driven by one key concern — avoiding a Rajasthan-like political disaster in Karnataka.

Party brass appears to be working towards a compromise rather than a disruptive transition, keenly aware that mishandling the issue could trigger factional instability and hurt the party in the 2028 assembly elections.

The Congress leadership is moving towards a change of guard in Karnataka. CM Siddaramaiah was Tuesday offered an honourable rehabilitation, including a Rajya Sabha berth, as part of smooth leadership transition in the state. Sources said Siddaramaiah may resign in the next couple of days, and a legislature party meeting could follow. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar is the likely successor to Siddaramaiah.

On a day Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar met the Congress leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal and state in-charge Randeep Surjewala over six hours, Rahul is learnt to have asked Siddaramaiah in a one-onone meeting to consider taking up a national role in the party. He was asked to respond within a week.