5 min read New Delhi May 29, 2026 05:11 PM IST First published on: May 29, 2026 at 03:09 PM IST For the past six months, every time Siddaramaiah was asked about speculation over the Karnataka Chief Minister post, he would say he would step down when the high command asked him to. Behind this assertion was probably a belief that Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, would not clear a change of guard in the southern state. But he did, and the high command made it clear to the Congress veteran that it was time . Siddaramaiah resigned yesterday, clearing the way for DK Shivakumar, the Deputy Chief Minister and the state Congress chief, who had to settle for the lesser role after the Congress won the 2023 state polls in Karnataka. The Karnataka shift reflects a lesson the Congress learnt four years back in a state nearly 2,000 km away: Rajasthan. A Rajasthan lesson The Congress had scored a thumping win in the 2018 Rajasthan polls, and Ashok Gehlot formed the government.…