Siddaramaiah’s decision to formally accept Karnataka’s caste census report just before resigning as Chief Minister has triggered intense political debate. The move is being seen as a calculated final message to both his likely successor DK Shivakumar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.The caste survey, pending for years because of its politically sensitive findings, reportedly highlights the growing demographic strength of OBCs, minorities, and Dalits under Siddaramaiah’s AHINDA political framework. But the report also threatens to reopen Karnataka’s delicate caste equations involving Lingayats and Vokkaligas.For DK Shivakumar, the caste census could become a major political challenge. For Rahul Gandhi, it has become a credibility test for the Congress party’s national caste census campaign.