Bengaluru: With CM D K Shivakumar already readying the Congress machinery for the 2028 assembly polls, the BJP-JD(S) alliance is yet to answer a basic question: who will take him on? Increasingly, the answer appears to be H D Kumaraswamy , though the BJP has not committed to projecting him as the NDA ’s CM candidate.
He has directed Congress MLAs to strengthen the party at the grassroots and linked their organisational performance to 2028 tickets. Shivakumar has moved well beyond running the govt. His administrative outreach to regions outside Congress strongholds is also being seen as part of a long-term electoral plan.
He said the BJP would soon decide who hold lead the party ahead of 2028 assembly polls and it will decide whether it was willing to let its principal ally lead the battle for Karnataka, and accept the political consequences. “Otherwise, its own choice would have to match Shivakumar’s organisational reach and visibility,’’ he added.
Political Stratergist M B Maramkal said the choice went beyond personalities. He added that Kumaraswamy had already begun positioning himself through sustained attacks on the Congress govt, while Shivakumar was preparing his party for the polls. Political analyst Vishwas Shetty said the contest would not be settled by who is declared the candidate today.
Satish Jarkiholi, who had earlier hinted at CM aspirations after 2028, has now backed Shivakumar to lead the party into the polls, saying he can wait as he has age on his side. Supporters see an obvious advantage in Kumaraswamy: a former CM, Union minister and prominent Vokkaliga face with a long-standing base in Old Mysuru, who is willing to engage the CM head on. Congress, meanwhile, is gaining from the Opposition’s lack of a settled formula. Siddaramaiah remains a major force, but Shivakumar holds the edge of incumbency and control over the state-level party machinery.