Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K.Shivakumar Tuesday hosted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for breakfast at his Sadashivanagar residence, continuing their engagements, as directed by the Congress high command, in a public show of unity.
On the breakfast menu were some of Siddaramaiah’s favourite dishes—’Naati chicken’ and Idli—with the guest probably holding an olive branch.
It was the second such breakfast meeting since Saturday, which comes amid mounting pressure from Shivakumar on the high command to fulfil the ‘secret agreement’ of 2023 for rotational chief ministership.
Siddaramaiah completed two-and-a-half years in office on 20 November.
“Hosted the Hon’ble CM for breakfast at my residence today as we reaffirm our commitment to good governance and the continued development of our state under the Congress vision,” Shivakumar posted on X.
Hosted the Hon’ble CM for breakfast at my residence today as we reaffirm our commitment to good governance and the continued development of our state under the Congress vision. pic.twitter.com/qmBxr50S64
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) December 2, 2025
The breakfast meeting comes a day ahead of Siddaramaiah’s likely meeting with Congress General Secretary (organisation), K.C.Venugopal, at an scheduled event in Mangaluru, about 350 km from Bengaluru.
Shivakumar and his brother D.K. Suresh gave Siddaramaiah a warm welcome with Suresh seeking the Chief Minister’s blessings by touching his feet.
Even as the meeting took place behind closed doors, Kannada TV news channels played AI-generated videos depicting the two leaders eating breakfast, laughing, and chatting.
There were many other such videos which imagined other possible scenarios, including arm wrestling, feeding each other and one in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears out of nowhere.
In recent weeks, the battle for political dominance has intensified in Karnataka with Shivakumar pressuring the Congress high command to honour its promise of replacing Siddaramaiah midway in the current term.
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‘Will attend if invited’
For the last couple of months, there have been several breakfast, lunch and dinner meetings that have been interpreted as an extension of the growing factionalism in the Congress party.
G.Parameshwara, H.C.Mahadevappa, Satish Jharkiholi, K.H.Muniyappa and several other leaders have met together or with others fueling speculation. Other than the issue of the ‘next CM’, there have been efforts to replace Shivakumar as the state Congress chief as well.
Some of the leaders are known to identify with Siddaramaiah and these meetings were seen as an extension of the growing feud between the CM and his deputy.
Legislators and others who identified with either camp have been making trips to Delhi to make a case for their respective leader.
“There were no differences. Myself and D.K.Shivakumar are united. Unitedly we will run the government. In the future also we will run the government unitedly,” Siddaramaiah told reporters after the breakfast meeting.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar said that they discussed party affairs and charted out a strategy to counter the opposition’s onslaught in the upcoming winter session of the state legislature in Belagavi.
The Congress, the CM said, is bolstering its defence against the onslaught of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) in the upcoming session, scheduled to commence 8 December.
The BJP has already stated that it will move a no-confidence motion during the session, accusing the duo of being more involved in trying to outdo each other while neglecting governance.
Siddaramaiah dismissed the allegations, categorically stating that the party was not divided.
“We are happy that the situation has eased down. It was always like this but some people created these (problems)… Everything is good now,” home minister and senior Congress leader G.Parameshwara told reporters.
He added that there were aspirations of the people that Siddaramaiah should continue or the likes of Shivakumar and himself be made CM, which he said was not wrong.
“For now only those two are having breakfast, if I am called even I will go,” he said to a query on why these breakfast meetings were limited to just two leaders.
Reacting to a query whether he too will organise a breakfast meeting, Parameshwara said that he will think about it and arrange one if it helps make the situation better.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: DK says Siddaramaiah to be Karnataka CM for 5 yrs. Why Congress high command can’t replace him