Ending days of speculation and negotiations, the Congress on Thursday declared Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister of Karnataka, and KPCC president DK Shivakumar as his deputy. The oath-taking ceremony will take place on May 20. The Congress will also elect its new CLP leader today.
Earlier on Wednesday, Siddaramiah and Shivakumar, both contenders for the top job, held separate meetings with party leader Rahul Gandhi. Shivakumar had a lunch meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. State Congress in-charge Randeep Surjewala told reporters that a new cabinet will be formed in Karnataka in the next 48-72 hours.
A backward class leader with over five decades of political experience, Siddaramaiah, 75, is considered one of the three remaining mass leaders of Karnataka alongside former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, 91, of the JD(S) and ex-CM B S Yediyurappa, 80, of the BJP. Meanwhile, DK Shivakumar, who is the president of KPCC, and an eight-time MLA from Kanakapura constituency, is seen to be the architect behind the party’s victory in Karnataka.
