KPCC chief race gains ground amid succession buzz

BENGALURU: As u.s. Congress leaders in young new delhi act through and through competing demands over Karnataka’s leadership structure, a parallel contest has begun taking shape inside the party, the race to succeed D. K. Shivakumar as Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president if the current power-sharing discussions eventually alter the state’s political hierarchy.The question of who controls the Congress organisation in Karnataka has moved to the centre of internal consultations alongside speculation over a possible transition involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar.Party leaders familiar with the discussions said the Congress high command is attempting to avoid a prolonged factional confrontation by pursuing a calibrated arrangement rather than a disruptive leadership overhaul. Within that exercise, the KPCC president’s post has emerged as a critical balancing position between rival camps.Among the leaders gaining traction in internal discussions is Satish Jarkiholi, who several Congress functionaries view as an acceptable organisational figure capable of maintaining working relations across factions.Jarkiholi, who currently serves as a working president of the Karnataka Congress, has publicly acknowledged that conversations around the organisational post are taking place.“If the party leaders ask me to take up any responsibility, I will consider it and convey my opinion to the high command,” he told reporters in Delhi on Tuesday, while adding that no formal discussions had yet taken place regarding the KPCC presidency.Earlier this year, Jarkiholi had also indicated that changes within the Karnataka Congress organisation appeared likely. “A change in the KPCC leadership is necessary and inevitable,” he said in April, adding that the final decision would rest with the party high command.Congress leaders say Jarkiholi’s administrative experience, social outreach and relatively non-confrontational image have strengthened his standing within the party at a time when the leadership is searching for equilibrium between competing groups.A senior Congress functionary said the next KPCC chief would play a central role in managing both organisational cohesion and election preparation ahead of the 2028 Assembly polls. “Satish Jarkiholi is being discussed seriously because he has administrative experience, organisational exposure and support among backward classes, Dalits and tribal communities. The party also sees him as someone who does not provoke resistance across factions,” the leader said on condition of anonymity.Apart from Jarkiholi, several other Congress leaders are also being discussed informally as possible contenders for the organisational post.Industries Minister M. B. Patil has figured in internal conversations because of his standing among Lingayat leaders and his organisational connections within the party.Former Bengaluru Rural MP D. K. Suresh, Shivakumar’s brother, is also among the names being discussed by leaders close to the deputy chief minister. Some party insiders believe his appointment could help preserve organisational influence if the party eventually separates government and organisational leadership. Others privately fear such a move could deepen factional divisions within the state unit.Home Minister G. Parameshwara is also viewed by some Congress leaders as a possible consensus candidate because of his earlier tenure as KPCC president and his long association with the organisation. But party insiders said ministerial responsibilities and changing caste calculations could complicate such a move.