Congress’ National President Mallikarjun Kharge will meet with former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar in Delhi to decide between the two for the top job.
On Sunday night, Shivakumar tweeted a picture celebrating his birthday with Siddaramaiah and his other party colleagues. ‘My life is dedicated to serving the people of Karnataka. On the eve of my birthday, the people of Karnataka gave me the best birthday gift possible. Thanks to my Congress family for their warm greetings,’ Shivakumar tweeted
Both the contenders are expected to meet Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the national capital.
3. On Sunday evening, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), which met at a private hotel in Bengaluru, passed a one-line resolution authorising party chief Kharge to pick its leader, who will be the next chief minister of Karnataka.
The CLP meeting was attended by AICC general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and three central observers, including former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.
Randeep Singh Surjewala, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Karnataka, later said Kharge will not take long and announce the name of the next chief minister of Karnataka soon.
Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar also attended the meeting which continued late into the night on Sunday and saw all 135 newly elected MLAs present
A large number of supporters gathered outside the residence of Shivakumar in Bengaluru on Sunday and raised slogans in support of his candidacy.
As lobbying shifted to Delhi, several combinations were on the table, including the idea of splitting the five-year-term between the two candidates.
In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka assembly, the Congress scored an emphatic victory with 135 seats, more than twice that held by the ruling BJP (66).
The swearing-in for the chief minister will be held on May 18.