BJP Mocks Karnataka Congress with AI 'Musical Chair' Video Amid Chief Minister Succession Battle

The Karnataka unit of BJP has posted an AI-generated 'musical chair' video on X platform, taking aim at the internal power struggle within Karnataka Congress over the Chief Minister position.

The cleverly crafted video depicts caricatures of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Home Minister G Parameshwara, and Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi circling around the Chief Minister's chair, each eagerly attempting to secure the coveted position.

BJP Karnataka captioned their social media post with "Countdown to the November Revolution!" - aligning with their prediction that a leadership change in the state government is imminent.

Political tensions regarding leadership transition have been simmering in Karnataka for months, dating back to the 2023 election that brought Congress to power. During that time, Shivakumar was considered a strong contender for the Chief Minister role due to his contributions to the Congress victory.

Ultimately, Congress leadership selected Siddaramaiah for the top position and persuaded Shivakumar to accept the Deputy Chief Minister and state party chief roles. Some reports suggested an agreement for rotational chief ministership had been established, though this was never officially confirmed.

After two and a half years of the current administration, Shivakumar's supporters began advocating for leadership change. A significant development occurred last month when Siddaramaiah's son and MLC Yathindra remarked that his father was in the "final phase of his political career."

Yathindra stated, "At this stage, he needs a leader with a strong ideology and a progressive mindset whom he can be a 'margdarshak' (mentor) to. Jarkiholi is someone who can uphold the Congress party's ideology and lead the party effectively. I firmly believe that finding a leader with such ideological conviction is rare, and I wish he continues this good work." He added that Jarkiholi "definitely has the capability to fill Siddaramaiah's shoes."

These comments were interpreted as the Siddaramaiah camp signaling to Shivakumar that even if Siddaramaiah steps down from the Chief Minister position, power would remain within his faction.

Siddaramaiah has dismissed speculation about leadership changes. Recently, when questioned on this matter by media, he responded sharply: "Don't you have anything else to ask? Let people talk about whatever they want, but who in the high command -- Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge -- has spoken about this? Why are you always talking about this? You in the media are talking about it more than the people. Apart from the high command, others talking about this is insignificant."