Bengaluru, Dec. 3 -- A carefully curated breakfast of idli, dosa, upma, naati koli, and coffee became the latest stage for the state's simmering leadership tensions, as chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar met over a spread cooked entirely at Shivakumar's residence. Though projected as a gesture of goodwill, the meal reflected the uneasy balance between personal camaraderie and political rivalry.

"The breakfast was good. We didn't talk about anything there. We just had breakfast. DKS came to our house today. DKS invited me to his house," Siddaramaiah said later in the day.

Food, however, played an unmistakable political role. Naati koli (country- style chicken), Siddaramaiah's well-known favourite, was add...