AH Vishwanath | Photo credit:
Former minister and BJP MLC AH Vishwanath on Friday urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to hand over power to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar under the alleged “power-sharing pact” between the two Congress leaders.
At a press conference here, Mr. Vishwanath, a long-time critic of the Chief Minister, dared Mr. Siddaramaiah to take a vow in front of Chamundeshwari deity atop the Chamundi Hills, saying there was no such pact.
“Let Mr. Siddaramaiah appear before Goddess Chamundi and publicly declare that there has been no understanding regarding power sharing for 30 months and that he intends to remain Chief Minister for the entire five-year period,” he said.
The former Congressman backed Mr Shivakumar, claiming the Deputy Chief Minister was a “dedicated Congressman”, unlike Mr Siddaramaiah “who only joined the Congress for power”.
Recalling the events that led to Mr Siddaramaiah’s entry into the Congress, Mr Vishwanath said Mr Shivakumar had written a detailed five-page letter to Soni Gandhi strongly supporting Mr Siddaramaiah’s induction, arguing that his entry would strengthen the party. “Mr Shivakumar played a major role in bringing Siddaramaiah to the Congress but today he is being betrayed,” he claimed.
Mr. Vishwanath also claimed that the mandate in the 2023 Assembly elections was in favor of the Congress and not for Mr. Siddaramaiah personally.
He stepped up his attack, describing the Chief Minister as “ungrateful” for the “betrayal” of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, who he said had groomed Mr Siddaramaiah in his political career. He recalled that when Mr. Gowda made him Deputy Chief Minister in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government led by N. Dharam Singh, Mr. Siddaramaiah began eyeing the post of Chief Minister and went on to organize an AHINDA (Minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits) rally in Hubballi.
According to Mr. Vishwanath, Mr. Gowda advised him to hold the rally under the Janata Dal(S) banner, but Mr. Siddaramaiah ignored the request, which hurt the former prime minister. This ultimately led to his removal as Deputy Chief Minister and later his expulsion from the JD(S), he said.
Expressing concern, Mr. Vishwanath noted that the tussle for the Chief Minister’s post has now taken on casteist overtones. He also criticized Yathindra Siddaramaiah for “singleing out” Adichunchanagiri Mutt Seer Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji for supporting Mr. Shivakumar’s claim to the top post, even as several other pontiffs made similar comments.
Published – 28 Nov 2025 18:25 IST
