From a viral YouTube video targeting former CM Siddaramaiah to claims of Meta glasses sting and political conspiracies, the controversy has pitted Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and HD Kumaraswamy against each other amid deepening Congress-JD(S) tensions.
BY PC Bureau
November 2, 2026 —What began as a murky YouTube video targeting former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has rapidly evolved into a full-blown political confrontation that now directly involves Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy. Fresh police disclosures on Sunday have shifted the spotlight from internal Congress rivalries to the JD(S) leader’s doorstep, raising sharper questions about who stands to gain from the controversy and how far the probe will go.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh on Sunday revealed that the mobile phone allegedly used in the sting against Siddaramaiah was purchased in Delhi’s Karol Bagh and handed over to Prajwal Prasad at Kumaraswamy’s official residence in the national capital, on Prasad’s instructions. The claim rests on the statement of Ritesh Pandey, arrested on October 24 for uploading the video. Police say Pandey, Vinod Sharma and Prajwal Prasad all worked at Kumaraswamy’s office.
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While the Commissioner carefully noted that the investigation remains open and no conclusions have been drawn about the minister’s direct role, the timing and nature of the disclosure have injected new intensity into an already charged atmosphere.
Kumaraswamy’s response was immediate and defiant. He dismissed any suggestion of involvement, declaring that neither the state government nor its officers “can touch him.” He accused Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Home Minister Priyank Kharge of orchestrating a conspiracy to implicate him and divert attention toward the JD(S). “We are not afraid of this. Our party has the strength to face it,” he asserted, while reiterating earlier complaints that party workers were being harassed.
Siddaramaiah Sting Case: Mobile Phones Exchanged at Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s Residence, Says Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh.
Commissioner alleges Minister’s social media team member and former journo Prajwal Prasad directed Ritesh Pandey and Vinod Sharma to purchase the phones from Carol Bagh and received it, at the minister’s residence.
#Karnataka #Bengaluru
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Kharge, for his part, struck a more ominous note, insisting that technical evidence and significant leads have emerged and that action would follow regardless of position. “This is just the trailer; the movie is yet to come,” he said, framing the latest developments as only the beginning.
The episode cannot be viewed in isolation. It sits at the intersection of three competing narratives. Siddaramaiah has consistently maintained that the video—filmed in 2023 and released in late September—is a fabricated attempt at blackmail designed to damage his reputation. He secured a court injunction against its circulation and expressed faith in the police probe while rejecting any need for a special investigation team. His son Yathindra has gone further, pointing to possible Congress insiders.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar has positioned himself as a potential target rather than a perpetrator, warning his Cabinet about sting operations and later claiming an industrialist using Meta AI glasses tried to trap him. Kumaraswamy, who earlier alleged that Shivakumar used similar tactics to force Siddaramaiah out of the chief minister’s post in June, now finds the investigation circling back toward his own circle.
This layering of accusations reveals deeper fault lines. The June leadership transition within the Congress continues to cast a long shadow, with lingering suspicions of internal power plays. Kumaraswamy’s interventions have amplified those tensions while allowing the JD(S) to cast itself as both victim and truth-teller. The police disclosures, by linking the phone trail to the Union minister’s residence, have raised the political stakes considerably.
Whether the probe into the alleged sting operation produces concrete evidence of a larger conspiracy or remains confined to the circulation of the video will determine if this remains a tactical skirmish or escalates into a more damaging institutional confrontation.
For now, the three principal figures continue to hold their lines. Siddaramaiah insists on his innocence and demands the truth. Shivakumar denies any role in the original operation. Kumaraswamy rejects the latest implications and paints the state government as the aggressor. The investigation, still incomplete, has already succeeded in one respect: it has turned a local political controversy into a multi-cornered contest where every new detail carries the potential to redraw alliances and reopen old wounds.
