Karnataka Congress minister DK Shivakumar travelled to Mumbai on Wednesday in an attempt to meet the rebel legislators of the state’s ruling coalition, who were staying at the Hotel Renaissance. He was accompanied by JD(S) MLA Shivalinge Gowda. Shivakumar said he would stay put outside the hotel until he could see his friends, whom he expected to return to the coalition in the end.

Shivakumar’s appeal

Describing the rebels as members of his own party, Shivakumar said he and they had been born together in politics and would die together in politics. He invited the authorities to send the Mumbai Police or any other force to do their job, saying he had only come to meet his colleagues. “Nothing is permanent in politics,” he said, adding that there were no permanent friends or enemies and that anyone could change course at any moment.

He told reporters he had booked a room at the hotel because his friends were staying there. He described the situation as a small problem that called for negotiation. “We can’t go for a divorce immediately,” he said, insisting there was no question of threatening anyone and that the two sides loved and respected each other. He said he was already in touch with the rebels and believed they would come round, and that he would not leave without meeting them.

Security and a cancelled booking

Before his arrival, security outside the hotel was tightened. Personnel of the Maharashtra State Reserve Police Force and riot control police were posted there after the rebel MLAs said they felt threatened by the planned visit of leaders from their home state. Shivakumar’s hotel booking was later cancelled, with the hotel citing an emergency.

The rebels’ response

B Basavaraj, one of the rebel Congress legislators, said the group did not wish to insult Shivakumar and still had faith in him, but that they had a reason for the step they had taken. He appealed to the minister to appreciate why the group was unable to see him.

What happened next

The Congress-JD(S) government led by H. D. Kumaraswamy fell in July 2019, and B. S. Yeddyurappa of the BJP returned as Chief Minister of Karnataka.

See also: Indian National Congress, Janata Dal (Secular).

Originally published on 10 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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