New Delhi: Congress has now said that Siddaramaiah has emerged as the party’s pick for the Karnataka chief minister’s post and that D.K. Shivakumar will be deputy chief minister.
The two will take oath at 12.30 pm on on May 20, it has been learnt. Congress has said that “like-minded parties” will be invited for the swearing-in ceremony, an event that is likely to turn into yet another show of opposition unity.
K.C.Venugopal, AICC general secretary of organisation, and Randeep Surjewala, AICC in-charge of Karnataka, formally announced the decision to appoint Siddaramaiah as the CM and Shivakumar as the only deputy CM earlier today.
Venugopal said that the newly-elected Congress MLAs will meet in Bengaluru on Thursday (May 18) evening and elect Siddaramaiah as it legislative party leader. He added that Shivakumar will also continue as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president until the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Congress leaders, including Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, celebrate in New Delhi.
Earlier today, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar attended a meeting at K.C. Venugopal’s house. This is reportedly the first time that the two were present at a Delhi meeting together.
Some news outlets reported that there is likely to be a power sharing agreement in place. However, neither Venugopal nor Randeep Surjewala confirmed such reports. Amidst speculations that Siddaramaiah will vacate the chief minister’s post for Shivakumar after a period of two years, Venugopal said that the “only power sharing” arrangement discussed in the high command was on how to “share power with the people”.
“Clearly, this election was poor versus rich…the entire poor and middle class people of Karnataka stands with the Congress party,” Venugopal said, thanking Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi for extensively canvassing in the state.
He said that Kharge spent more than a month in Karnataka to devote all his time in the campaign, holding more than 42 rallies. Surjewala chipped in to say that the Congress’s party victory march had begun from Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, after which the state leadership also carried out a “prajadhwani yatra” across the state to connect with people.
On the power tussle between the two top leaders of the party, Venugopal said, “Our party is a democratic party. We believe in consensus, not dictatorship. Last two or three days, we were trying for a consensus.”
He said that as a mark of the dynamic nature of Congress’s leaders in Karnataka, “Siddaramaiah is an experienced, senior-most politician, an able administrator. He contributed a lot to this election, to the party, and tirelessly worked for it. In the same way our PCC president, D.K. Shivakumar, is one of the most dynamic party organisers in the state. He electrified the cadre of the state. Wherever a small gap was there, he reached and filled the gap. It was a very good combination – Shivakumar as PCC president and Siddaramaiah as a CLP [Congress legislative party] leader.”
Venugopal noted that both deserve to be chief minister.
“Of course, everybody has their own personal wish to become CM. Both deserve it also. The Congress president had a series of discussions with senior leaders and one-on-one discussions with both of them. Kharge ji then took the opinions of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders. Finally, the Congress president took a decision (to appoint Siddaramaiah as the CM),” Venugopal said.
Until yesterday, All India Congress Committee members had been divided over their choice of chief minister in Karnataka.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar’s organisational capabilities had kept him in the race, while former chief minister Siddaramaiah enjoys the support of the maximum number of MLAs.
Both met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to plead their respective cases.