Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar exuded confidence that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi would become the Prime Minister in 2029, asserting that India is seeking political change. He also affirmed that Congress would retain power in Karnataka in the 2028 Assembly elections, moving away from the state’s tradition of alternating governments.

Criticising the BJP over the deterioration in India's relations with neighbours like Bangladesh, Shivakumar said, ‘I am very confident that Rahul Gandhi will be the next Prime Minister of this country in 2029. The country needs a change. You don't have any friends around this country’. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had also said last month that he would support Rahul Gandhi as the next Prime Minister in the next Lok Sabha elections. 

Karnataka Deputy CM also dismissed rumours of a leadership change in Karnataka this year. But he indirectly hinted at a leadership change by saying, 'There is no life without hope'. On the controversy over singing the RSS anthem in the Assembly, Shivakumar said it was meant to mock the BJP, reiterating his lifelong loyalty to the Gandhi family and Congress ideology.