The demand for Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to be elevated as Chief Minister resurfaced strongly on Thursday after his supporters performed a special ritual atop Chamundi Hills, pulling a silver chariot in his name. The DK Shivakumar Fans’ Association placed a large portrait of the Vokkaliga leader on the chariot and offered special prayers at the Chamundeshwari Temple, seeking divine blessings for him to become the next Chief Minister of Karnataka.

KPCC member G. Srinath Babu, who led the ceremony, said that Shivakumar’s “administrative style, development focus, and pro-people work” had transformed him into a powerful mass leader. He recalled that Shivakumar played a “crucial role” in the Congress winning 136 seats in the 2023 Assembly elections.

“With discussions on leadership change gaining momentum, if the high command takes any decision on replacing the Chief Minister, our clear demand is that D.K. Shivakumar must be given the top post. Siddaramaiah is running the government well, but Shivakumar deserves a chance to lead the state,” he said.

Several key members of the All Karnataka DK Shivakumar Fans’ Association—including J. Raghavendra, Harish Gowda, S.N. Rajesh, Shashank Gowda, Chandru, Kiran, Prasanna Kumar (Appi), Dinesh, Vinod, and others—participated enthusiastically in the ritual, turning the temple premises into a show of political symbolism.

Meanwhile, the political heat intensified further after MLC H. Vishwanath addressed a separate press meet in Mysuru. Reigniting the coalition-era debate on “power-sharing agreements,” Vishwanath insisted that Shivakumar must be given his due and that the Congress high command must honor earlier commitments regarding leadership rotation.

He accused the party leadership of allowing the tussle to escalate into “a caste conflict,” an unprecedented phenomenon in Karnataka politics. Vishwanath also took strong objection to comments made by Yathindra Siddaramaiah about Swami Nirmalanandanatha, stating that such remarks were “unacceptable.”

Vishwanath launched a sharp attack on Yathindra, saying, “He keeps batting for Siddaramaiah and claims his father is the AHINDA leader with unparalleled mass appeal. But where was this so-called popularity in 1978 when he secured only 5,000 votes? You became MLA in 1983 because the Vokkaliga community supported you at Chamundeshwari. Every position you held came through Deve Gowda and the Mysuru. royal family.”

With pressure mounting from both community groups and political circles, the Congress finds itself navigating an increasingly delicate balance between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s established leadership and Shivakumar’s assertive claim to the top seat.