Two CMs for Karnataka? Congress may offer top post to Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar to avoid Rajasthan-like situation
2 min read 14 May 2023, 10:34 AM ISTKarnataka: Taking lessons from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the Congress is planning to give both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar an opportunity to hold the chief ministerial's post
PremiumAfter registering an emphatic victory in Karnataka, the big question for Congress has emerged is who will hold the chief ministerial post in the southern state. The two most likable candidates are- Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar.
The Congress party has called a meeting with elected MLAs of Karnataka on Sunday. In the meeting, the party is likely to unveil the name of the chief minister.
According to a report by Live Hindustan, Mint's sister publication, Congress may strike a deal between 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 veterans an opportunity to hold the CM's post in Karnataka. There's a possibility that Congress may consider a formula of making both leaders CMs for 2.5 years each.
Yesterday Shivakumar, the tallest Vokkaliga leader of the Congress party, broke down in happiness after the party won the election. Shivakumar said, "I give credit to party cadres and all the leaders for the party's victory. People have reposed faith in us and the leaders supported us. It is a collective leadership and we have worked jointly," Shivakumar, a key contender to the Chief Minister's post said, his voice choking.
About DK Shivakumar
A trusted lieutenant of the Gandhi family, Shivakumar is an eight-time MLA. The strong Vokkaliga face of the Congress continued his winning streak in Kanakapura, defeating senior BJP leader and Revenue Minister R Ashoka, a six-time MLA
Born on May 15, 1962, in Kanakapura to Doddalahalli Kempe Gowda and Gouramma, Shivakumar has been a staunch Congressman from the beginning.
He started his political career as a student leader in the 1980s and gradually rose through the ranks of the Congress party.
He contested his maiden election from the Sathanur Assembly constituency in 1989 when he was just 27.
About Siddaramaiah
On the other hand, 75-year-old Siddaramaiah is another top contender for the Karnataka CM post. He joined the grand old party in 2006 after his ouster from JD(S) of former Prime Minister Deve Gowda. Making his debut in the Assembly in 1983, Siddaramaiah got elected from Chamundeshwari on a Lok Dal Party ticket. He has won five times from this constituency and tasted defeat thrice. The former CM of Karnataka tasted defeat in the 1989 and 1999 Assembly elections. He was Chairman of the KPCC Publicity Committee of Elections in 2008.
Born on August 12, 1948, in Siddaramanahundi, a village in Mysuru district, Siddaramaiah graduated from Mysore University with B.Sc. Degree and later studied Law at the same institution and pursued it as a profession for some time. Siddaramaiah led a successful five-year term as Chief Minister of the Congress government between 2013-18. Yesterday Siddaramaiah got a landslide victory in the Varuna constituency, defeating his nearest rival and influential Lingayat leader V Somanna by a margin of 46,006 votes.
The internal conflicts in Congress:
The conflicts among top Congress leaders have remained in the spotlight. The friction at the party in several states has harmed the Congress party severely. The squabble 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 fight was seen in Punjab, and Congress lost its one of the most astute politicians Captain Amarinder Singh just before the state election. Thereafter Singh joined the rival BJP.
Now Karnataka Congress may mirror similar tussles if it fails to resolve the old feud between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
