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Siddaramaiah to be Karnataka CM, DK Shivakumar deputy: Sources

May 18, 2023
Bharat Times

The resolution signaled the party’s campaign to reach an amicable solution. (file)

New Delhi:
Sources said that after four days of tough negotiations, the Congress will declare Siddaramaiah as the chief minister and DK Shivakumar as his deputy at the Congress Legislature Party meeting in Bengaluru this evening. He will take oath on Saturday.

Following are the latest developments in this big story:

  1. With sources saying Siddaramaiah will be elected as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party and cabinet formation discussions almost over, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge worked through the night to find a solution.

  2. However, there is no official statement from DK Shivakumar on whether he has accepted. The Congress is struggling to get Mr Shivakumar on board with the idea of ​​a second term for Siddaramaiah at the top post.

  3. Mr Kharge and Rahul Gandhi made two proposals to Mr Shivakumar at a meeting in Delhi on Wednesday. Sources said the two-hour long meeting remained inconclusive and the top contender rejected both the options. The meeting took place again in the evening.

  4. Sources said the first option gave Mr Shivakumar the post of deputy chief minister of the state while heading the state party unit along with his current job. He was also offered six ministries of his choice.

  5. The resolution signaled the party’s campaign to reach an amicable solution. The one person one post rule was implemented by Rahul Gandhi when Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was asked to run for party president – the post currently held by Mr Kharge.

  6. There was also option 2 – power-sharing between Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Siddaramaiah. Sources said that under this, Siddaramaiah was to get the top post for two years, and Mr Shivakumar was to follow for three years. But sources said that neither Mr. Shivakumar nor Mr. Siddaramaiah was ready to move to another position.

  7. Mr Shivakumar is pushing for the top post, citing its work in the last four years: rebuilding the party after a group of its MLAs brought down the coalition government with HD Kumaraswamy four years ago, and then giving it a massive mandate. Take away assembly elections last week

  8. Failure to find a solution acceptable to all may cost the Congress dearly in next year’s general elections. While Mr. Shivakumar has followers among the state’s politically important Vokkaligas, Mr. Siddaramaiah is supported by the Ehinda Mancha – an old social coalition of minorities, OBCs and Dalits that voted overwhelmingly for the Congress .

  9. There are speculations that in the worst case Karnataka could become the next Rajasthan, where a rift between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and senior leader Sachin Pilot had brought the government to the brink of collapse. In Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath’s government fell after Jyotiraditya Scindia left with 22 loyalists.

  10. Mr. Shivakumar, however, has ruled out rebellion. He said, “The party can give me responsibility if it wants… We have a joint house. I don’t want to divide anyone here. Whether they like me or not, I am a responsible person. I will not backstab and I will I will not blackmail,” he has said.