February 25, 2026

Karnataka: Finally, A Compromise Solution Is Found

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2023-05-19 05:39:34

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

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The situation the Congress found itself in Karnataka was strikingly similar to the one it encountered in Rajasthan in 2018. Now, the tug-of-war was between the seasoned campaigner Siddaramaiah and the hard-working organization man D K Shivakumar. Then it was between the wily Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot. The compromise formula worked out in Karnataka is also exactly similar with the hard core politician, who had the backing of a majority of MLAs, getting the top post and the man who toiled hard on the ground becoming his deputy.

The Congress will now hope that the script, from here onwards, does not unfold like the one in Rajasthan where Gehlot and Pilot have not been able to bury their hatchet (in fact, Pilot had rebelled in 2020 but backed off due to lack of numbers and promises made to him by the high command) and their fights have become increasingly frequent and uglier. The party can ill afford to have the Rajasthan scenario in Karnataka as the ground situation in the state is different and after the non-performing Bommai government's tenure, the state needs the party to keep its promises and govern the state well to meet the aspirations of the people.

It is not known what promises have been made to Shivakumar for him to agree to be the deputy chief minister. But if those promises are not kept by the high command, things might get bad in Karnataka too. This is something which the party needs to keep a close watch on as though Siddaramaiah has the numbers, any tiff between him and Shivakumar will allow the BJP to fish in troubled waters. Further, given the fact that the party has to look after the many contradictions in the state, it needs to stand united to provide good governance for the next five years.