Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar Engage in 'Word' War As Karnataka CM Power Tussle Heats Up

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah amid a power-tussle for CM post with DK Shivakumar on Thursday appeared to hit back at his Deputy over latter’s “Word Power is World Power” jibe. Taking

to X, formerly Twitter, Siddaramaiah said "a word is not power unless it betters the World for the people" adding the "mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not a moment, but a responsibility that lasts five full years.”

Siddaramaiah vs Shivakumar over 'word power' as Power Tussle Intensifies

Siddaramaiah’s remarks came a day after DK Shivakumar made a cryptic post on X, saying “Word Power is World Power, keeping one’s word is the greatest strength in the world”.

Political analysts decode Shivakumar’s post as a message or signal to Siddaramaiah and may be party’s High Command, reminding of them of the secret or reported 2.5-year CM deal in Karnataka.As speculations and reports around infighting in the Congress over Karnataka leadership are on peak, Siddaramaiah on Thursday, said, “A Word is not power unless it betters the World for the people.”

In his post, he also reminded the work done during his both the terms as Chief Minister of Karnataka.“Proud to declare that the Shakti scheme has delivered over 600 crore free trips to the women of our state. From the very first month of forming the government, we transformed our guarantees into action, not in words, but on the ground.”

• Shakti – Over 600 crore free trips, restoring dignity and mobility to working women.
• Gruha Lakshmi – Empowering 1.24 crore women-led families.
• Yuva Nidhi – 3 lakh+ youth supported with security and hope.
• Anna Bhagya 2.0 – Food security for 4.08 crore citizens.
• Gruha Jyoti – Free electricity for 1.64 crore families.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzsokaUcp5w

In my first term (2013–18), 157 of 165 promises were fulfilled with over 95% delivery. In this term, 243+ promises out of 593 are already completed, and every remaining promise will be fulfilled with commitment, credibility, and care, Siddaramaiah said.The mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not a moment, but a responsibility that lasts five full years, he added.The Congress party, including me, is walking the talk for our people with compassion, consistency, and courage. Our Word to Karnataka is not a slogan, it means the World to us, the Karnataka Chief Minister said.Meanwhile, reacting to an earlier remark by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's 'will settle CM change issue, put end to confusion after discussion with senior leaders' remark, DK Shivakumar said that for them, the party is more important than everything."For us party is more important that everything. I am not claiming anything right now. We will all work together in the best interest of the party. Success of our party is more important than individual things."

Why Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar Are Fighting Over Karnataka CM Post

After 2023 Karnataka Assembly election results, there was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar for the chief minister's post and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy CM.There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after 2.5 years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.However, Siddaramaiah rejected these reports and asserted that he will be the chief minister for five years.MLAs and ministers loyal to Shivakumar have been going to Delhi to impress upon the party high command to make their leader Chief Minister "as agreed upon", Congress sources said.With inputs from PTI