BackSiddaramaiah Karnataka’s next CM; Shivakumar deputy: Cong
A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader and chief minister of Karnataka, following which he staked his claim with the Governor, who invited him to form the government.
PremiumBENGALURU/NEW DELHI : A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader and chief minister of Karnataka, following which he staked his claim with the Governor, who invited him to form the government.
Ending days of suspense, the Congress central leadership earlier on Thursday announced that Siddaramaiah would be the chief minister, while state party chief D.K. Shivakumar would be his only deputy.
The meeting of newly elected Congress MLAs, MLCs and MPs, which took place at Indira Gandhi Bhavan in Bengaluru, was also attended by AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and two other central observers—former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh.
According to Surjewala, Shivakumar moved a resolution to elect Siddaramaiah as the new leader of the CLP. All the members of the CLP endorsed it unanimously.
Following this, Siddaramaiah, along with Shivakumar and other Congress leaders, met Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at Raj Bhavan and staked his claim to form the government.
The Governor invited Siddaramaiah to take oath as chief minister and Shivakumar as deputy chief minister along with their team members at 12.30 pm on 20 May at Kanteerva Stadium, the Governor’s letter addressed to the new CLP leader said.
In the 10 May elections to the 224-member Assembly, the Congress scored an emphatic victory by bagging 135 seats, while the ruling BJP and former prime minister H. D. Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) secured 66 and 19 seats, respectively.
Congress general secretary (organization) K.C. Venugopal said Shivakumar will continue as the party’s Karnataka state president till parliamentary elections are over, he said.
Senior party leader and in-charge for Karnataka Randeep Surjewala said the Congress is committed to fulfilling the five promises made during the elections and action would be taken on them in the first meeting of the cabinet.
Sources said around 20 ministers will be sworn in along with the chief minister and deputy chief minister, including some from the state legislative council.
Asked about the much-talked-about power-sharing formula between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, Venugopal said the only formula is to share the power with the people of Karnataka. “Ours is a democratic party, we believe in consensus and not in dictatorship," he said on the hectic discussions held over the last few days.
Asked about the decision and why he relented after a spirited fight for the top post, Shivakumar later said, “In the larger interest of the party, I have agreed. We are committed to the people of Karnataka and we have to deliver. That is our responsibility."
Setting at rest any speculation on whether the government will last or the party will see a similar situation as in other states such as Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh over the leadership issue, he said, “Everything is well and will be well." Shivakumar said all the new MLAs have accepted whatever the high command has decided.
He said he is not upset and has a long way to go and will concentrate on strengthening the party for the Lok Sabha elections by delivering the promises made to people. Crediting the people of the state and party leaders in Karnataka for the “spectacular" victory, he said this election was a clearly a fight between the poor and the rich and the poor and middle class have stood with the Congress. He also gave credit to Kharge, and the Gandhis for the victory in the polls.
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