Karnataka Congress 'power tussle' to intensify after Bihar polls debacle, claims BJP

Speaking at the BJP state office, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka said Siddaramaiah now holds a clear advantage.

The opposition BJP in Karnataka on Friday said it expects the “power tussle” within the ruling Congress to escalate in the coming weeks, especially after the party’s setback in the Bihar assembly elections.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar.(ANI)

According to BJP leaders, the outcome has “weakened” the Congress high command, thereby strengthening Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s position within the state unit.

The comments come amid persistent speculation over a possible change in leadership as the Siddaramaiah-led government approaches the halfway point of its five-year term in November, a period that some political observers have begun to label the “November revolution.”

Speaking at the BJP state office, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka said Siddaramaiah now holds a clear advantage. “If anyone in Congress is celebrating today, it is Siddaramaiah,” he said. “With the Congress central leadership becoming weak after the Bihar results, he will only grow stronger.”

Ashoka alleged that internal fissures in the Congress would intensify and the long-rumoured power-sharing arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar would become more contentious. He referred to Shivakumar’s recent remark that a favourable outcome for the Congress alliance in Bihar would strengthen his own position. “But with these results, it seems like the endgame for him,” Ashoka claimed.

He further said Siddaramaiah had “firmly fixed himself to his chair” and was prepared to counter any internal challenge, adding that issues linked to leadership transfer would now gather pace.

Several senior BJP leaders, including MLA CN Ashwath Narayan and Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan, echoed Ashoka’s remarks, maintaining that factional strains within the ruling party would worsen as Congress grapples with the fallout of the Bihar results.

Ashoka also argued that the NDA’s strong performance in Bihar would energise the BJP in Karnataka. Accusing the Congress government of “maladministration and appeasement,” he said Karnataka could witness a similar political shift after two-and-a-half years. He also reiterated his criticism of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, claiming the party had lost “99 per cent of elections” under his leadership. “He has become an ‘iron leg’ for the Congress,” he said.