After registering an emphatic victory in Karnataka, the big question for the Congress has emerged as to who will take over as the chief minister in the southern state. The two most preferred candidates are Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar.
Congress The party has called a meeting with the elected MLAs of Karnataka on Sunday. The party can announce the name of the Chief Minister in the meeting.
According to a report in Mint’s sister publication Live Hindustan, there may be a deal between the Congress Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar for shared terms of five years.
Taking lessons from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the Congress is planning to give both the political heavyweights a chance to take over as CM in Karnataka. There is a possibility that Congress may consider the formula of making both the leaders CM for 2.5 years each.
Shivakumar, the tallest Vokkaliga leader of the Congress party yesterday, was jubilant after the party won the elections. “I give the credit of the party’s victory to the party workers and all the leaders. People have reposed faith in us and leaders have supported us. It is collective,” Shivakumar said. Leadership And we have worked jointly,” Shivakumar, the main contender for the chief minister’s post, said, his voice choking.
About DK Shivakumar
Shivakumar, a trusted lieutenant of the Gandhi family, is an eight-time MLA. The strong Vokkaliga face of the Congress continued its winning streak in Kanakapura, defeating senior BJP leader and six-time MLA Revenue Minister R Ashok.
Born on May 15, 1962 in Kanakapura to Doddalahalli Kempe Gowda and Gouramma, Shivakumar has been a staunch Congressman from the beginning.
He began his political career in the 1980s as a student leader and gradually rose through the ranks of the Congress Party.
He contested his first election from the Sathanur assembly constituency in 1989, when he was just 27 years old.
About Siddaramaiah
On the other hand, 75-year-old Siddaramaiah is another top contender for the CM post of Karnataka. He joined the grand old party in 2006 after former prime minister Deve Gowda walked out of the JD(S). Making his debut in the Legislative Assembly in 1983, Siddaramaiah was elected from Chamundeshwari on a Lok Dal party ticket. He has won from this seat five times and has tasted defeat thrice. The former Karnataka CM had tasted defeat in the 1989 and 1999 assembly elections. He was the chairman of the KPCC campaign committee for the 2008 election.
Born on August 12, 1948, in Siddaramahundi, a village in Mysore district, Siddaramaiah completed his B.Sc. from the University of Mysore. graduated with degree and later studied law in the same institution and adopted it as a profession for some time. Siddaramaiah led a successful five-year term as Chief Minister of the Congress government between 2013–18. Siddaramaiah got a landslide victory in Varuna constituency yesterday, defeating his nearest rival and influential Lingayat leader V Somanna by a margin of 46,006 votes.
Internal conflict in Congress:
The tussle between the top Congress leaders remains in the limelight. The infighting within the party in many states has caused serious damage to the Congress party. The tussle between Jyotiraditya Scindia (now BJP leader and Union Aviation Minister) and Kamal Nath saw the party ousted from power in 2020. The fight between Sachin Pilot and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot has intensified. A similar battle was witnessed in Punjab and just before the state elections, the Congress lost one of its shrewdest politicians, Captain Amarinder Singh. Singh then joined the rival BJP.
If the Karnataka Congress fails to resolve the old dispute between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, now the Karnataka Congress may show similar tussle.
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