Karnataka: Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar, or rotational CMs, Mallikarjun Kharge to choose next chief minister
Karnataka CM name: Party sources claimed that Siddaramaiah is the front-runner for the post of Chief Minister. There will be one CM, one deputy CM and around 25 ministers will be sworn in during the oath ceremony.
Karnataka CM name: Congress, which registered an emphatic victory defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka on Saturday (May 13), now faces the challenge of deciding the chief minister amid speculations of Siddaramaiah being the front-runner followed by state party president DK Shivakumar.
Newly elected Congress MLAs in Karnataka today (May 14) authorised party president Mallikarjun Kharge to pick the next chief minister, party sources said. The Congress Legislature Party, which met at a private hotel in Bengaluru on Sunday evening, passed a unanimous resolution authorising the party chief to pick its leader.
The hectic lobbying is still in process for the post of Chief Minister between state Congress President DK Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition (LoP) and former CM Siddaramaiah. Party sources claimed that Siddaramaiah is the front-runner for the post of Chief Minister. There will be one CM, one deputy CM and around 25 ministers will be sworn in during the oath ceremony.
When CM candidate will be announced?
As per sources, the name of Chief Minister candidate will be announced in the next two-three days and oath ceremony is likely to take place on May 18 (Thursday).
ALSO READ: OPINION | HOW CONGRESS DEFEATED BJP IN KARNATAKA
Rotational CMs in Karnataka:
Additionally, for the initial two years, Siddaramaiah will be the chief minister of the state and for the next three years, DK Shivakumar to take charge as CM of Karnataka.
In the initial stage, Shivakumar will be allotted two important portfolios and he will serve as Deputy CM at this time.
Here is the list of probable ministers in Karnataka cabinet:
- G Parameshwar
- BK Hariprasad
- MB Patil
- RV Deshpandey
- Krishna Byre Gowda
- Ramalinga Reddy
- KJ George
- Priyank Kharge
- Zameer Khan
- UT Khader
- S Patil
- Lakshmi Hebbalkar
- Eshwar Khandre
- Jarkiholi
- Santosh Lad
- Saleem Ahmad
- H Mahadevappa
- HK Patil
- Dinesh Gundu Rao
Observers appointment:
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday appointed three observers in Karnataka including former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and party leaders Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria for the election of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader in the state.
What Vokkaliga seer said on K'taka CM post:
In a major development, Vokkaliga seer Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji has held a meeting and indicated that Shivakumar deserves to become the CM. The influential pontiff maintained that Shivakumar had put in efforts for the party and it should be duly recognised. He also stated that the mutt and community wants him to become the CM and will support Shivakumar him like they supported former PM HD Deve Gowda, HD Kumaraswamy and SM Krishna.
Sources stated that Siddaramaiah camp has also been equally lobbying for the post and putting an all-out effort to secure the support of 100 MLAs. The strategy is to secure MLAs support in Legislature Party meeting and assert with Ahinda groups later. With Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge reaching New Delhi and his statement that the high command will take a call after the Legislature party meeting, it indicates the tussle for the CM post.
Congress bags 136 seats:
According to the Election Commission of India, Congress won 136 seats, pushing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power in the only southern state it ruled, and boosting its prospects for future electoral battles.BJP managed to win 65 seats. Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) bagged 19 seats.
What Rahul Gandhi said after victory:
Addressing reporters at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the Congress stood in support of the poor."The poor defeated crony capitalists in Karnataka. What I really liked about this election is that we did not fight the battle with hatred. We fought the elections with love."
"I want to thank all the party leaders and workers in Karnataka. Karnataka mein Nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, Mohabbat ki dukaane khuli hai (The politics of hate has been defeated in Karnataka, love has won). We fought on the issues of the poor. We did not fight this battle using hatred or wrong words. This victory will be replicated in other states," Rahul Gandhi said.
Karnataka went to the polls on May 10 for the 224-member state assembly and saw a record polling of 72.68 per cent. A party needs 113 seats to get the majority.
ALSO READ: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on who will be the next Karnataka Chief Minister