Bengaluru, Jan. 13 -- The Supreme Court's June 30 deadline to the state government to conduct elections to the five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Monday poses a new challenge to deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar's oft-cited aspirations to become the chief minister.

Shivakumar's "many hats" as the deputy chief minister have compounded the nature of the challenge. The selection of candidates and electoral management duties lie squarely on his shoulders as the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). Besides, the weight of anti-incumbent sentiment over crumbling civic infrastructure in the state capital is also directed primarily towards Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru development por...