By B D Narayankar 

Bengaluru, June 5

DK Shivakumar has climbed the mountain he spent years trying to scale. The oath has been taken, the celebrations have been held and the Congress has finally settled the question of succession in Karnataka. But if politics teaches anything, it is that winning power is often easier than wielding it.

The new Chief Minister enters office with a formidable reputation — as the Congress's chief troubleshooter, a relentless organiser and a leader who survived enough political storms to earn a place among the party's most influential regional satraps. Yet the challenges before him are unlike any he has faced before.
For one, he inherits power without inheriting complete control.

Though Siddaramaiah has vacated the Chief Minister's chair, his political presence continues to occupy considerable space in the corridors of power. Many members of the new cabinet owe their rise to the veteran leader and remain part of his political ecosystem. The transfer of office may be complete; the transfer of influence is another matter altogether.

The Congress leadership has presented the transition as seamless. Karnataka's political history suggests otherwise. Rivalries in Indian politics rarely end with a handshake and a photograph. They merely become more sophisticated.
Shivakumar's first task, therefore, is not defeating the Opposition but ensuring that the ruling party remains united behind him.

Then comes the caste survey — perhaps the most politically combustible file awaiting the new Chief Minister.
Accepted by the Siddaramaiah government in its final days, the survey has reopened old debates on representation, reservation and political power. Every community sees in it either an opportunity or a threat. Any decision on its implementation is likely to create winners and losers, making it a test not merely of governance but of political nerve.

For the Congress, the issue carries additional weight. A party that champions a caste census nationally can scarcely afford to look hesitant when confronted with the consequences of one in a state where it is in power.
If the caste survey is a political minefield, Bengaluru is an administrative one.

India's technology capital continues to struggle with traffic congestion, strained infrastructure and the familiar complaint that growth has outpaced planning.

Shivakumar, who has long projected himself as a builder and developer, will find that voters are less impressed by promises than by roads that work, drains that do not overflow and commutes that do not consume half a day.
The upcoming elections to the Greater Bengaluru Authority will offer the first tangible measure of public confidence in the new administration.

Yet all these challenges are merely chapters in a larger story.
The Congress did not elevate Shivakumar solely to manage a government. It elevated him to win an election.
Karnataka has not developed a habit of rewarding incumbents. For nearly four decades, voters have alternated between parties with remarkable consistency. Breaking that pattern and securing a second successive term for the Congress in 2028 remains the real prize.

That objective explains much of the political arithmetic behind the transition. Shivakumar is expected to consolidate Vokkaliga support while retaining the broader coalition of backward classes, Dalits and minorities that powered the Congress to victory in 2023. It is a balancing act easier described than accomplished.

There is an old truth in politics: ambition gets a leader to the top, performance keeps him there.
For years, Shivakumar's story was about the struggle to become Chief Minister. Beginning this week, it becomes a story about something more difficult — whether he can govern effectively, manage competing centres of power and persuade Karnataka's voters to give the Congress something they have denied every government for decades: a second chance.

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Bengaluru, June 5

In an early setback for the newly formed Karnataka government, senior Congress leader and Minister R Ramalinga Reddy on Friday resigned from the cabinet just two days after taking oath, alleging that he had been repeatedly “humiliated” after being denied the Bengaluru Development portfolio despite what he described as repeated assurances from Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

Reddy, an eight-time MLA from BTM Layout and one of the Congress party's most prominent leaders in Bengaluru, said he had been assured that he would be given charge of the Bengaluru Development Department once Shivakumar assumed office as Chief Minister. However, he was instead allocated the Irrigation portfolio in the new cabinet.

“I have been humiliated time and again. I cannot take it anymore,” Reddy told reporters after signing his resignation letter.

The resignation comes as the first major sign of discontent within the newly sworn-in cabinet and is likely to fuel political speculation over portfolio allocation and internal dynamics within the ruling Congress.

Explaining his decision, Reddy said Shivakumar had personally visited his residence and assured him that the Bengaluru Development portfolio would be handed over to him after the leadership transition.

According to Reddy, the assurance was reiterated a day before the swearing-in ceremony, only for the allocation to change at the last moment.

“Twice they told me that Bengaluru Development would be given to me. Now I am disappointed. Hence, I am resigning as minister,” he said.

Reddy further declared that he would not accept any ministerial berth in future, even if one of his preferred portfolios was offered.

“Even if they give me the Bengaluru Development portfolio now, I will not accept it. I will work as an MLA and will remain with the Congress,” he said.

The veteran leader clarified that his resignation was confined to the ministerial post and that he would continue as a Congress legislator.

He also said that instead of personally submitting his resignation letter, he would send it to the Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary through a supporter.

A key political figure in Bengaluru, Reddy has represented the BTM Layout constituency eight times and has previously held important portfolios including Transport, Muzrai and Home Affairs in successive Karnataka governments.

While Shivakumar has retained the Finance portfolio, he has relinquished charge of the Bengaluru Development Department. The influential portfolio has been allotted to senior Congress leader Krishna Byre Gowda.

The Bengaluru Development Department is regarded as one of the most prestigious and politically significant portfolios in the Karnataka government, overseeing urban planning, infrastructure development and major civic projects in Bengaluru, the state's capital.

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Chennai, December 4