Siddaramaiah loyalist K.N. Rajanna takes swipe at Karnataka CM Shivakumar over community votes
Synopsis
In a sharp dig at Karnataka CM D.K. Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah loyalist K.N. Rajanna questioned in Tumakuru whether Shivakumar's elevation would genuinely deliver Vokkaliga votes to the Congress — a rare public airing of the factional tension that has long simmered inside Karnataka's ruling party.
Key Takeaways
Rajanna made a sarcastic remark in Tumakuru on 18 September 2026 , questioning whether CM D.K.
Shivakumar would bring Vokkaliga votes to Congress.
Rajanna drew a comparison with Siddaramaiah's tenure, when the Kuruba community was presumed to have backed Congress.
He defended Siddaramaiah as an 'unquestionable leader of the Ahinda class' despite the Apex Bank appointment setback.
Rajanna declared his intent to contest Lok Sabha elections from a new constituency to be formed in the Madhugiri sub-division after delimitation.
Balakrishna , a Shivakumar associate, countered that weakening any top Congress leader — including Mallikarjun Kharge — would harm the party.
Congress MLA and former minister K.N. Rajanna, a close associate of former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Friday, 18 September 2026, made a pointed sarcastic remark in Tumakuru questioning whether Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar's elevation would actually translate into votes from the Vokkaliga community for the Congress — drawing a sharp comparison with the electoral weight Siddaramaiah reportedly commanded among the Kuruba community.
What Rajanna Said
Speaking to reporters in Tumakuru, Rajanna said, 'No votes will come from Siddaramaiah now. All votes will come to the party only from Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.' The remark was widely read as a sardonic challenge to the narrative that Shivakumar's caste profile would deliver Vokkaliga votes to the Congress.
Rajanna questioned whether Vokkaliga voters would back the Congress en masse simply because one of their own occupied the Chief Minister's office — just as the Kuruba community was presumed to have backed the party during Siddaramaiah's tenure. 'Whether people will support him or not will be known in the election. The people will decide, and then we will see,' he added.
Rajanna Defends Siddaramaiah's Standing
The Congress MLA was emphatic in defending Siddaramaiah's continued relevance within the party. 'Siddaramaiah is an unquestionable leader of the Ahinda class,' Rajanna said, using the term that broadly refers to backward classes, minorities, and Dalits — a coalition central to Karnataka's Congress politics.
He acknowledged that Siddaramaiah had tried to get him appointed as president of Apex Bank, but that the effort had not succeeded. He rejected the inference that this setback diminished Siddaramaiah's clout, calling such a reading 'wrong.' Rajanna also said he had not suffered any personal setback over the matter and indicated that constituency delimitation would proceed as expected.
Rajanna's Electoral Ambition
Beyond the factional sparring, Rajanna signalled his own political plans, saying he intends to contest Lok Sabha elections in the future. 'In the Madhugiri sub-division, one constituency will be formed after delimitation. I will contest from there,' he said.
Shivakumar Camp Responds
Minister for Municipal Administration H.C. Balakrishna, a close associate of Shivakumar, responded to Rajanna's earlier statement that weakening Siddaramaiah would weaken the Congress. Balakrishna said the party would be weakened if any of its key leaders — including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Chief Minister Shivakumar, or Siddaramaiah — were undermined, framing it as a collective strength argument rather than a factional one.
The Broader Context
The exchange reflects the simmering power dynamics within Karnataka's Congress government, where Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have long been perceived as rival centres of influence. The question of community arithmetic — which leader can deliver which community's votes — has been a recurring undercurrent in Karnataka politics, particularly ahead of future state and national elections. With delimitation of constituencies also in play, the jostling over political ground is set to intensify.
Point of View
And that Siddaramaiah's political capital cannot simply be transferred to Shivakumar by virtue of a title. What mainstream coverage underplays is the delimitation subtext: Rajanna is not just throwing a dart at Shivakumar, he is also staking out constituency-level turf ahead of a redrawing of the electoral map. The Shivakumar camp's response — citing Kharge alongside both leaders — is a studied attempt to reframe the spat as a collective Congress concern rather than a bilateral rivalry, but it does little to address the underlying question Rajanna posed: can Vokkaliga votes actually be mobilised for Congress, and if not, what was the basis for the chief ministership?
NationPress
18 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did K.N. Rajanna say about Karnataka CM D.K. Shivakumar?
Congress MLA K.N. Rajanna said sarcastically on 18 September 2026 in Tumakuru that 'all votes will come to the party only from Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar,' implying that Siddaramaiah's vote-pulling power was now being discounted while questioning whether Shivakumar could actually deliver Vokkaliga community votes for Congress.
Why is the Vokkaliga-Kuruba comparison significant in Karnataka politics?
In Karnataka, community identity is a major electoral variable. Siddaramaiah drew strong support from the Kuruba community and the broader Ahinda coalition; Shivakumar belongs to the dominant Vokkaliga community. Rajanna's question — whether Vokkaliga voters will back Congress simply because one of their own is Chief Minister — cuts to the heart of whether the party's leadership transition delivers real electoral dividends.
How did the Shivakumar camp respond to Rajanna's remarks?
Minister for Municipal Administration H.C. Balakrishna, a close Shivakumar associate, said the Congress would be weakened if any key leader — including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Chief Minister Shivakumar, or Siddaramaiah — were undermined, presenting it as a collective party-strength argument.
What is Rajanna's own political plan?
Rajanna said he intends to contest Lok Sabha elections in the future, specifically from a new constituency he expects to be carved out of the Madhugiri sub-division following the upcoming delimitation exercise.
What is the Ahinda coalition that Rajanna referenced?
Ahinda is a Karnataka political term encompassing backward classes, minorities, and Dalits — a broad social coalition that Siddaramaiah has long cultivated as his primary electoral base. Rajanna described Siddaramaiah as an 'unquestionable leader' of this group, signalling that his political stock among these communities remains intact despite recent setbacks.
