Twenty-two Congress legislators from Karnataka are set to depart for Australia and New Zealand early Wednesday, defying reported signals from the party leadership to defer the trip, in a development that has sharpened an already fraught contest between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar.The tour, initially planned by 27 MLAs, has become more than a routine overseas visit. Party insiders say the timing and optics have assumed political significance amid speculation over a possible leadership change in the state. The decision of most of the group to proceed has been interpreted by rival camps as a show of strength, raising questions about loyalty, numbers and the balance of power within the ruling party.
Siddaramaiah, who returned to office in May 2023 after Congress secured a decisive majority in the Karnataka Assembly elections, has faced intermittent pressure over an alleged understanding to share the chief minister’s post with Shivakumar. The latter, a key architect of the party’s electoral victory and current president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, has not publicly challenged the chief minister but has repeatedly said he will abide by the party high command’s decision on leadership.
The overseas travel plan emerged at a sensitive juncture. According to senior party functionaries in Bengaluru, the Congress central leadership had conveyed that legislators should remain available in the state given ongoing political and administrative priorities. Though no formal directive was issued publicly, the message was described as a caution against unnecessary absence.
Despite that, 22 MLAs are expected to board flights in the early hours of Wednesday. Supporters of the chief minister argue that the trip was scheduled earlier and is private in nature, with legislators entitled to travel during a legislative recess. They dismiss suggestions that the visit amounts to a coordinated political statement.
Those aligned with Shivakumar view the optics differently. Some privately contend that the scale of participation signals where loyalties lie at a time when the question of succession is again circulating in party circles. The numbers matter in a legislature of 224 seats where Congress holds a comfortable majority, but internal factional arithmetic can influence perceptions in New Delhi.
Siddaramaiah, a veteran leader who previously served as chief minister between 2013 and 2018, has maintained that there is no vacancy in the top post. He has also emphasised that governance and welfare delivery remain the government’s priority. Under his leadership, the administration has rolled out flagship guarantee schemes promised during the election campaign, including financial assistance for women heads of households and free electricity up to a threshold.
Shivakumar, meanwhile, has consolidated his organisational influence. As state party chief, he oversees coordination between the government and the Congress high command. His supporters argue that his role in engineering defections from the opposition in earlier years and in mobilising resources during the 2023 campaign strengthened the party’s position.
The tussle between the two leaders is rooted in the post-election negotiations that followed Congress’s victory over the Bharatiya Janata Party. At that time, intense discussions in New Delhi culminated in Siddaramaiah being chosen as chief minister and Shivakumar as deputy chief minister, along with key portfolios. Reports of a rotational arrangement have surfaced intermittently since then, though neither leader has confirmed any formal agreement.
Political analysts note that overseas tours by legislators are not uncommon, often framed as study visits or private travel. However, in a context of leadership speculation, even routine movements can acquire symbolic weight. The perception of a group travelling together, particularly after word of a caution from the central leadership, can be interpreted as signalling cohesion around a particular camp.
The Congress high command, led by party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders including Rahul Gandhi, has sought to project unity in Karnataka, one of the party’s key states in the south. Stability in the state is viewed as important ahead of forthcoming electoral contests and in the broader national political landscape.