Siddaramaiah next Karnataka Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar his deputy: Congress

Karnataka will see Siddaramaiah taking over as the next Chief Minister of the state with the Congress top brass deciding to go ahead with him. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief DK Shivakumar, who was also pitching to be the Chief Minister, will be the Deputy CM, announced the grand old party in a news briefing on Thursday. 

#BREAKING | 'We are a democratic party, and we believe in consensus not dictatorship: Congress holds news briefing on Karnataka CM post.#Congress #DKShivakumar #Siddaramaiah https://t.co/6CjsNJ9CEq pic.twitter.com/wCxRwCN57r

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Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who acted as a tag team during the elections to unseat the Bharatiya Janata Party from power in Karnataka, were vocal in their desire to occupy the Chief Minister’s chair in the state. Siddaramaiah led a successful five-year term as Chief Minister of the Congress government between 2013-18. Siddaramaiah, who had grown to become a mass leader, also has the distinction of presenting as many as 13 state budgets as Finance Minister.

Congress sweeps Karnataka polls

The decision came after the party secured an emphatic victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections held on May 10 and whose results were declared on May 13. The Congress won 136 seats in the 224-member Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 65 seats and the HD Kumaraswamy-led Janata Dal (Secular) won 19 seats.

Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar held discussions with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, as well as with other senior leaders over government formation in Karnataka. Sources said former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was also consulted over the choice of the Chief Minister and government formation in Karnataka.

Siddaramaiah on Monday afternoon arrived in the national capital to meet top party leaders. DK Shivakumar reached Delhi on Tuesday. DK Shivakumar had earlier cancelled his visit to the national capital on Monday evening citing health issues, fuelling speculations that all is not well in the party.

On Sunday, the newly-elected Congress MLAs passed a resolution authorising Kharge to appoint a leader of the Congress Legislature party, who will be the Karnataka CM. 

Won't backstab for CM's chair: Shivakumar

While travelling to Delhi, Shivakumar assured his party leaders that he will not 'backstab' or 'blackmail' for the CM's chair. "Ours is a united house, our number is 135. I don't want to divide anyone here. Whether they like me or not, I am a responsible man. I will not backstab and I will not blackmail," he said, adding that former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is his role model. 

Both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah on Tuesday met with Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi. Kharge held talks with both the CM aspirants, separately. However, no announcement was made on that day despite several key meetings.