Bengaluru: A proposal to bring a woman into the Karnataka cabinet has become the latest flashpoint between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, opening a fresh front in the Congress government's internal politics.
The two leaders are understood to differ over who should get the berth, with the discussion turning into a test of authority between the Chief Minister's camp and the Deputy Chief Minister's camp. Reports of the rift came on the same day as the government's other business, and neither side issued a formal statement dismissing the differences.
Karnataka has seen a long-running power-sharing arrangement in which Mr Shivakumar, who heads the state Congress unit, has been seen as a claimant to the top post. The current friction over a cabinet vacancy has revived questions about how the two offices will work together.
The induction of a woman minister had been expected to address criticism that the cabinet is short on women's representation. Women's groups and party workers have periodically pressed for more women in the ministry.
The Congress government in Karnataka took office after the 2023 assembly polls. The latest disagreement has been reported by multiple outlets tracking the state's politics, though the exact sequence of the talks and the names under consideration were not confirmed in the reports available.
Political observers said the episode is unlikely to threaten the government immediately but signals that the leadership question will keep surfacing. Both leaders have publicly stressed unity in the past.
The chief minister's office did not confirm the names under discussion, and the deputy chief minister's camp did not issue a formal comment on the reports.