How Congress And Its Dinner Politics In Karnataka Continue To Set Rumour Mills Running

Last Updated:January 10, 2025, 11:34 IST

Those in the Siddaramaiah camp say that these dinner meetings, including the one called on January 3 by Satish Jarkiholi, were ones to strategise and work towards strengthening the party.

Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar with CM Siddaramaiah. (Image: PTI)

In Karnataka, for the Congress, ‘dinner politics’ seems to be the way out of contentious decisions — be it about leadership changes in the state unit, talks of a potential Chief Ministerial switch, muscle-flexing by dominant communities for Deputy CM representation, or simply signalling to the high command which faction holds sway. Everything is hashed out, figuratively and literally, served hot or cold.

While rumours have been rife about a change in guard, efforts are being made by the Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC chief DK Shivakumar camp to convince the party high command to align with the post-poll agreement of giving both leaders Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar an equal share of time as CM. However, Siddaramaiah is confident that he will continue and complete the full term of five years as CM.

“The people are very happy with the Congress, the grassroots are working on the ground, and we are confident not only will the people of Karnataka give us another chance, but at that time, DK Shivakumar can lead the party from the front. Siddaramaiah ji has announced this is his last election; this is the time that leaders can use to put in place solid popular schemes that will convince people to vote for the Congress again with a bigger majority. Being the CM comes with responsibility, and deserving candidates will get it at the right time," said a senior Congress leader under the condition of anonymity.

Belagavi to Bengaluru: A Series of Strategic Dinners

Those in the Siddaramaiah camp say that these dinner meetings, including the one called on January 3 by Satish Jarkiholi, were ones to strategise and work towards strengthening the party.

“The party high command had sought a full campaign across the country based on ‘Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhaan,’ which was to begin on December 27 but was postponed after the demise of former PM Dr Manmohan Singh. That’s all that it is," said a senior minister from the government.

Shivakumar was known to have met with senior Congress leader KC Venugopal in Delhi upon hearing about the dinner meetings and also asked him to send a stern message to the state unit to stop such moves immediately, as it would give scope to political rumours and further spark friction in an already sensitive political balance in the state.

Expressing unhappiness over the CM’s dinner meeting and several leaders loyal to Siddaramaiah giving statements about appointing a new state president and creating more deputy chief minister posts, Shivakumar has also pointed out that this meeting was the latest among meetings that have been sending the wrong signals within the party and across the media as well.

“These meetings have been sending mixed signals to the party members. While it could be to discuss important issues, the timing of the meeting is also important. One dinner meeting was called when DK Shivakumar was out of the country. It could have been scheduled properly too," said a senior leader from the Shivakumar camp.

The rumours about an impending leadership change in the government are an offshoot of a suspected high command-brokered power-sharing agreement between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, ahead of forming the government in May 2023.

Dinner and SC/ST vote Dynamics

Another dinner that was to be hosted at a private hotel by Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on January 8 got hurriedly cancelled, allegedly due to the intervention of AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, overseeing the state. This sparked widespread speculation of a possible leadership change after March 2025 and was seen as Parameshwara trying to consolidate the support of SC/ST communities.

Parameshwara himself had thrown his hat in the ring when the issue of whether Karnataka would see a change of guard between the two powerful leaders — Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar — was discussed. Parameshwara, a Dalit leader, has maintained that he is the strongest candidate if a Dalit CM face is to be made the CM in the state, if the Congress high command falls into a predicament between the strongest Ahinda leader, two-time CM Siddaramaiah, and loyalist, troubleshooter, and Dy CM DK Shivakumar.

Shivakumar reportedly alerted the high command about Parameshwara’s plans, prompting the latter to defer the gathering.

Parameshwara brushed off any suggestion of secrecy, stating, “There was a discussion on inviting Shivakumar to the meeting. There is nothing to hide. If we have to do politics, we will do it openly."

The postponed dinner was intended as a follow-up to the SC/ST convention held in Chitradurga ahead of the Assembly polls, Parameshwara said. He added that the issues from the Chitradurga resolution needed addressing now that the Congress is in power and that was the main purpose of the meeting, not to be misconstrued by the media.

No Political Agenda?

Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna, a staunch Siddaramaiah loyalist, reignited the push for additional Deputy CMs, a proposal he believes will boost Congress prospects in the Lok Sabha polls. Shivakumar is said to have reportedly vetoed the appointment of additional Deputy CMs.

Rajanna accused the high command of displaying an anti-SC/ST bias by blocking Parameshwara’s meeting. He claimed the agenda revolved around SC/ST students’ scholarships and hostel admissions, not politics. “Giving a political colour to this meeting is doing injustice to these communities," Rajanna remarked.

This was also on the agenda of the dinner meetings, said the Shivakumar faction. Sources close to the Deputy CM claim these dinners aim to keep him in check as he asserts his influence. The high command, wary of factional clashes, has sought to ensure such meetings don’t spiral into full-blown crises.

Another Congress leader remarked that the party’s central leadership does not want to intervene apart from sending a few messages to ensure unity, as they feel it would give the opposition a handle to target the party time and again. “The government has been asked to concentrate on delivering the guarantees and run a healthy government," said the leader.

Deputy CM Posts Dinner Diplomacy

The January 3, 2024, dinner meeting of senior Congress ministers, hosted by Minister Satish Jarkiholi, has sparked speculation about a section within the party strategising to keep Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in check and push for the appointment of additional Deputy Chief Ministers.

He also mentioned upcoming conventions focused on Dalit and ST communities. “We did not speak about the issue of a Dalit CM. There is a convention for Dalits on January 28 in Chitradurga, and after that, there is an SC/ST meeting in Davanagere in February," Jarkiholi added.

The dinner, attended largely by leaders from the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities, comes amid fresh developments in a 2019 corruption case against Shivakumar. The CBI recently appealed against the Siddaramaiah-led government’s decision to withdraw its consent for the agency to investigate corruption charges against him.

In this background, on October 10 last year, three Dalit ministers in the Siddaramaiah-led government gathered for dinner at the residence of Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa in Mysuru, amid ongoing speculation about a possible leadership change in Karnataka.

Parameshwara had then downplayed the political significance of the meeting, stating that he had simply accepted an invitation for dinner from Minister Mahadevappa, who is also the district in-charge minister for Mysuru. Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi and Kollegal MLA AR Krishnamurthy were also present at this dinner meeting.

The gathering of Dalit ministers gained significance against the backdrop of the long-standing demand for a Dalit Chief Minister in Karnataka. Following the meeting, the ministers stated that discussions revolved around preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and organisational matters, including the possibility of appointing more Deputy Chief Ministers.

Dishing out Lok Sabha strategy over Dinner

If calling dinner meetings was meant to strategise, there was also a dinner hosted by Shivakumar in February 2024, just before the Lok Sabha polls, which saw a few Congress ministers giving it a miss. While Shivakumar’s supporters maintained that a majority of the ministers attended the programme, those who skipped had informed him in advance due to pre-scheduled engagements.

Shivakumar had reportedly insisted that a few ministers should contest the Lok Sabha polls. While many of them skipped the dinner meeting, some others expressed that they could not switch to national politics and instead wished for Congress tickets to be given to their children.

Satish Jarkiholi, whose name had been making the rounds as a probable candidate for the Belagavi seat, also missed the dinner. Ministers KN Rajanna, Byrati Suresh, Santhosh Lad, and Sharanabasappa Darshanapur were among the absentees, according to sources. But Shivakumar’s supporters maintained that a majority of the ministers attended the programme, and those who had skipped had informed him in advance due to pre-scheduled engagements. Former Union Minister Digvijaya Singh and Congress RS candidate Ajay Maken also attended this dinner meeting.

BJP leaders in Congress dinner, another controversy

Another dinner gathering that sparked a controversy, though not directly linked to the Congress working, but sparked political speculation, was on December 14, 2023, when former BJP ministers ST Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar, along with MLC AH Vishwanath, were seen attending a dinner organised after the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting.

The ministers reportedly came to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to discuss seeking grants for development projects in their constituencies. Somashekar represents the Yeshwanthpura assembly constituency in Bengaluru, while Hebbar represents Yellapura in Uttara Kannada district. Vishwanath is a nominated MLC.

Both Somashekar and Hebbar had previously been part of the Congress before joining the BJP, while Vishwanath, a former Congress leader, had shifted to JD(S) before eventually moving to the BJP.

The trio were part of the 17 Congress and JD(S) legislators who resigned in 2019, leading to the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government under HD Kumaraswamy. Vishwanath, in particular, is now rumoured to be considering a return to the Congress.

Their attendance at the dinner, following the CLP meeting on the outskirts of Belagavi, fuelled further speculation about their political intentions. They were later pulled up by the BJP state chief for their participation.

Shivakumar later clarified that 10 legislators from other parties had been invited to the dinner, but they did not attend the CLP meeting.

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