BANGALORE: The Congress' central leadership has finally broken the impasse over Karnataka's new chief ministerial position after frantic discussions that lasted for many days. Siddaramaiah will be the next Chief Minister of Karnataka and D.K Shivakumar his deputy, Congress sources announced today. The swearing-in ceremony will be held in Bangalore on May 20.
According to media sources, DK Shivakumar and former Congress President Sonia Gandhi spoke to resolve the matter on Wednesday night. Shivakumar had been adamant in his desire for the position of Chief Minister.
They stated that Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress, and other parties engaged in discussions well into the night to try and reach an agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, the two candidates for chief minister.
As per Congress source, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have been unanimously chosen to serve as the next chief minister and deputy chief minister, respectively.
Shivakumar, the leader of the party's state branch, has scheduled a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday night in Bengaluru. There will be an announcement of the choice.
The Karnataka PCC chief has written to all legislators, asking them to partake the meeting of newly-elected MLAs, MLCs and MPs at the Indira Gandhi Bhavan on Queen's Road at 7.00 pm
According to people close to Shivakumar, he chose to make the "sacrifice" and accept the position of deputy chief minister in order to advance the party.
On Wednesday, frantic negotiations were held to break the impasse in selecting the Congress' chief ministerial candidate in Karnataka. Both candidates made their cases to the top brass, and the party claimed that a decision is expected to be made in the next day or two.
The Congress won a resounding victory in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly elections on May 10 by winning 135 seats, while the governing BJP and the HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) won 66 and 19 seats, respectively.
Siddaramaiah to be Karnataka CM, Shivakumar his deputy