Bengaluru, 28 May 2026: Karnataka ke Chief Minister Siddaramaiah aaj hi apna resignation de dene wale hain, jisse state ke Congress government ke andar chhidi hui leadership ki ladai ka ek ant ho jayega. Veteran leader aaj dopahar mein Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot se milne wale hain, iske pehle ki woh apne cabinet ke colleagues ke saath breakfast meeting karenge, jismein Deputy CM DK Shivakumar bhi shaamil honge. Yeh sab New Delhi mein hue marathon discussions ke baad ho raha hai, jismein Congress ke leaders Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, aur Siddaramaiah shaamil the. High command ne reportedly CM se resignation dene ko kaha hai taaki leadership transition ko facilitate kiya ja sake.
Siddaramaiah, jinhone Karnataka ke CM ke taur par 8 saal aur 12 din se zyada ka time do terms mein complete kiya hai—apne mentor D Devaraj Urs ke record ko bhi paar karte hue—ne pehle hi yeh kaha tha ki woh party ke faisle ko maanenge. Wednesday ko reporters se baat karte hue unhone kaha, *“Main kal baat karunga,”* jabki woh pehle PM Jawaharlal Nehru ki death anniversary par unko floral tributes de rahe the. Senior Congress leader R V Deshpande, who hain Administrative Reforms Commission ke Chairperson, ne confirm kiya ki Siddaramaiah resign karne ka faisla le chuka hain, aur reporters ko kaha ki CM ne high command ko apna word diya hai aur usko poora karenge. Deshpande ne yeh bhi add kiya ki bahut se ministers aur legislators ne Siddaramaiah se resignation na dene ki request ki, lekin CM apne faisle par firm rahe.
Congress high command ne reportedly Siddaramaiah ko Rajya Sabha ki seat aur ek larger national role offer kiya hai resignation ke badle mein. Lekin sources ke mutabik, 77-year-old leader national politics mein shift karne ko razi nahi hain. Rajya Sabha nominations ki last date 8 June hai, aur party leadership unhe offer accept karne ke liye convince karne ki koshish mein hai. Resignation submit karne se pehle, Siddaramaiah aaj subah 9 baje apne cabinet ke colleagues ke saath breakfast meeting host karenge, jismein Shivakumar bhi shaamil honge. Iske baad, CM ek press conference address karenge aur phir Governor se milenge.
Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting abhi tak officially call nahi ki gayi hai, lekin sources indicate kar rahe hain ki ek formal meeting Friday, 29 May ko ho sakti hai taaki Siddaramaiah ke successor ko elect ya name kiya ja sake. Siddaramaiah ke camp ne CLP election ki demand ki hai, jisse kuch logon ka maan hai ki isse Home Minister G Parameshwara, jo ek senior Dalit leader hain, ek consensus candidate ke taur par uprise kar sakte hain. Aisa move na sirf Shivakumar ki elevation ko rok sakta hai, balki Siddaramaiah ko yeh credit bhi dega ki unhone Karnataka ke pehle Dalit CM ko Congress se laane mein help ki. Lekin party insiders suggest kar rahe hain ki high command Shivakumar ko hi promote karne ki taraf inclined hai, jo ki top post ke liye ek key contender rahe hain since Congress government ne November 2025 mein apne 5-year term ka half-way mark cross kiya tha.
Leadership transition ko tezi tab se mil rahi hai jab se Delhi mein intense discussions hue, jahan Rahul Gandhi aur other senior leaders ne reportedly conclude kiya ki governance concerns aur internal party dynamics ko address karne ke liye leadership change zaroori hai. AICC General Secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, jo Wednesday evening ko Bengaluru reach hue hain transition ko oversee karne ke liye, clarified ki abhi tak koi official decision nahi liya gaya hai aur media se speculation na karne ki request ki. Surjewala ne Siddaramaiah aur other senior leaders se bhi meeting ki hai evolving situation par discuss karne ke liye.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ne Congress leadership ki criticism ki hai, state president B.Y. Vijayendra ne predict kiya hai mid-term Assembly polls in Karnataka regardless of who becomes the next Chief Minister. Vijayendra ne allege kiya ki Congress high command ka directive Siddaramaiah ko replace karne ka matlab hai ki state government ne past 3 saal mein achhi governance provide nahi ki. BJP ka assertion reflect karta hai political uncertainty surrounding the leadership transition, even as Congress high command seems determined to formalize the change.
Jab tak state Siddaramaiah ke official announcement ka wait kar raha hai, sabki nazar aaj ke breakfast meeting aur subsequent developments par hai. Congress high command ka leadership change facilitate karne ka decision indicate karta hai party ke efforts to revitalize its governance narrative in Karnataka, even as speculation continues over the identity of the next Chief Minister.
