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Shivakumar, ex-Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Jharkhand ex-MLA Bandhu Tirkey were appointed as Congress observers for the Assam elections.
Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar
In his first reaction since being appointed as Congress’s observer for the upcoming Assam Elections, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday said he had no option and had to comply with the party’s diktats, being a Congressman.
Shivakumar, ex-Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Jharkhand ex-MLA Bandhu Tirkey were appointed on Wednesday by the Congress as the party’s senior observers for the Assam Assembly elections this year, where the party is taking on the incumbent Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government.
“I don’t have any option. Whatever the party tells us to do, we have to do it. That is what being a Congressman means. I have seen the AICC press release. They have asked me to look after Assam. I had been to Assam earlier as well, long ago, and now they want me there again. I will be going,” Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress President, told reporters.
Shivakumar’s new role comes amid a power tussle in Karnataka, as he is widely seen as a claimant for the chief minister’s post. The internal debate within the ruling Congress has intensified after the government crossed the halfway point of its five-year term on November 20.
Speculation around a leadership change has been linked to the reported power-sharing agreement between the two leaders when the Congress came to power in 2023, under which Siddaramaiah was supposed to serve as Chief Minister for 2.5 years, while Shivakumar was supposed to serve at the top post for the remainder of the Congress term.
Congress picking Shivakumar for the Assam assignment has set off a buzz in the political circles of the southern state. The decision was announced by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal while unveiling observer teams for five states and Union Territories, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, that are scheduled to go to the polls in the first half of the year.
The appointment of Baghel and Shivakumar as observers came soon after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was made the chairperson of the Assam Screening Committee, as the party hopes to end the 10-year BJP rule.
Elections to 126 constituencies in Assam are likely to take place in March-April. Last month, the Congress, CPI(M), Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, Jatiya Dal-Asom (JDA) and the Karbi Anglong-based All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) announced an alliance to jointly contest the polls.
(with inputs from PTI)
January 08, 2026, 21:24 IST
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