Karnataka CM race: Ending days of uncertainty, the Congress party named Siddaramaiah as the next Chief Minister of Karnataka with DK Shivakumar as his deputy. On Wednesday, May 17, hectic parleys were held to break the deadlock in deciding Karnataka's next CM with both the contenders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar presenting their cases before the top brass.
However, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge worked till late night to break the political deadlock and arrived at a consensus for government formation. Reportedly, Kharge held marathon meetings o Wednesday night and also discussed in length with Shivakumar in order to persuade him after the latter dug his heels for the top post.
Oath-taking ceremony on May 20
According to sources the oath-taking ceremony will be held in Bengaluru on May 20 at 12:30 pm. According to sources, Congress chief Kharge is expected to invite opposition leaders to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Karnataka Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. They said that Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other senior party leaders will attend the event.
The party has also called a Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting in Bengaluru on Thursday at 7 pm, where Siddaramaiah is likely to be formally elected as the leader of the legislature party. Central Observers from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) have also been asked to reach Bengaluru to conduct the CLP Meeting.
Following the meeting, the Congress party will meet the Governor and stake claim to form the government in the state. According to reports, Siddaramaiah got an edge over Shivakumar as the top Congress leadership feels the former Chief Minister's popularity among several sections including the poor, OBCs and minorities can get votes for the party in the Lok Sabha elections.
Congress holds press conference
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal confirmed that Siddaramaiah will be the Chief Minister of Karnataka and DK Shivakumar will be the only deputy CM. "Shivakumar will continue as the PCC president till the end of parliamentary elections. CM, Dy CM and a group of ministers will be sworn-in on 20th May," he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Karnataka's two Chief Ministerial aspirants Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar held separate meetings with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi as the party held hectic consultations to decide on who would lead the government in the southern state.
Congress held series of meetings
Before reaching the consensus, the Congress party held a series of meetings on who will be the Chief Minister of the state after the party staged a stunning victory in the assembly elections, winning 135 of out 224 seats.
The Congress has also hit out at the BJP for criticising it over the delay in deciding the chief minister of Karnataka, and cited examples when the saffron party declared its chief ministers in Uttar Pradesh and Assam several days after winning the polls.
