Karnataka CM News Live Updates: Siddaramaiah, DKS to meet for breakfast amid the CM chair buzz

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said no one is aware of the discussions held during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's recent meeting with the Congress high command in Delhi, adding that AICC Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala's visit to Bengaluru is expected to bring clarity amid ongoing speculation over the state leadership.

"Yesterday, the high command leaders called the CM. The CM met them. But no one knows what was discussed inside. We have no information yet. State incharge Randeep Surjewala is coming to Bengaluru today. He will clear up all the confusion tomorrow. We still don't know about the internal discussions. We only know what KC Venugopal said. That's all I have to say," Parmeshwatra told reporters.

"CM Siddaramaiah has also called a breakfast meeting tomorrow. I will meet the CM this afternoon," he added.

Parameshwara's remarks come as Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to hold a key breakfast meeting with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at his official residence 'Kaveri' in Bengaluru on Thursday, a development being closely watched amid recurring discussions around leadership transition within the ruling Congress.

The meeting follows a high-level Congress leadership discussion held in New Delhi on Tuesday. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar were present at the meeting.

After the Delhi meeting, KC Venugopal dismissed reports of any leadership change, saying the discussions focused solely on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Karnataka Legislative Council polls.

"Today, we had a detailed meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP Rahul Gandhi. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, and I were part of the discussion. The entire discussion was concentrated only on the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and Council elections of Karnataka," Venugopal had said.

He termed reports of a leadership reshuffle as "speculation" and said candidate announcements would be made alongside those for other states.

Speculation over the chief ministerial post in Karnataka has surfaced repeatedly since the Congress government completed two-and-a-half years in office. Supporters of DK Shivakumar have, at various points, publicly backed him for the top post, while some Congress workers have also rallied behind G Parameshwara, adding another layer to the internal political buzz.

Against this backdrop, the Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar meeting in Bengaluru is being viewed as politically significant, with party leaders and observers watching for any indication of the Congress leadership's next move in Karnataka

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.