Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressing the Legislative Assembly in Belagavi on December 19, 2025. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that he was never politically weak even though he faced physical weakness at times.
When Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok remarked in the Legislative Assembly that the Chief Minister, who had been indisposed recently, looked fresh and seemed to have overcome weakness—both physical and political—the Chief Minister remarked, “It is not possible for me to become politically weak. I have never faced political weakness before and will not face it in the future. Of course, there are no circumstances that can ever cause political weakness.”
These statements were made in the context of the Chief Minister’s declaration that he would serve a full term as Chief Minister, and there was no “pact” limiting his tenure to half a five-year term.
On a philosophical note
However, on a philosophical note, the chief minister also said, “We can come to power only if the people bless us. The people are the boss in a democracy. Whatever our ideology, it is the people who decide the transfer of power.”
The Chief Minister launched a counter-attack on the BJP by asking Mr. Ashok whether he was confident of continuing in his position for the entire term. “BS Yediyurappa also said that he would complete a full term of five years, but that did not happen,” he recalled.
Dinner meeting
Interestingly, this claim came a day after the chief minister and his confidants met for dinner at the residence of Satish Jarkiholi, a minister and Congress leader.
Ministers HC Mahadevappa, G. Parameshwara and BZ Zameer Ahmed, Naseer Ahmed, MLC and Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, AS Ponnanna, MLA and Legal Adviser to the Chief Minister and some other local officials were present.
The guest who surprised the media waiting at the front gates was MC Sudhakar, a minister who is believed to be a supporter of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
Sources close to Mr. Jarkiholi said the number of VIP guests did not exceed a dozen.
Mr Jarkiholi, who arrived at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha on Friday morning, dismissed speculation that the dinner meeting was a show of force.
“It was a routine meeting with friends. We’ve had dinners like this every day at my house since the beginning of the winter session. There’s nothing political,” he said.
Mr. Shivakumar, who used Mr. Satish Jarkiholi’s helicopter to fly to the temple near Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district, said there was nothing wrong with the joint dinner of ministers and leaders.
“We are producers, directors and actors”
Referring to the parties’ different styles of functioning, the chief minister told BJP members in the assembly, “You (BJP) have someone to direct you what to do. But there is no one to direct us. We (Congress leaders) are directors, we are producers and we are also actors.”
Published – 19 Dec 2025 21:22 IST
