Karnataka: Siddaramaiah takes the helm, Congress clears the air

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar played pivotal roles in the Congress party's resounding victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections.

After four days of suspense, the Congress high command put all speculation to rest late on May 18 and named senior party leader Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Siddaramaiah and the party's state president DK Shivakumar had been vying for the chief minister’s post after the Congress won the May 10 Karnataka assembly elections.

Late night on May 17, the party leadership decided to appoint 75-year-old Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister. Shivakumar, 60, will serve as his deputy with important portfolios under his command.

The announcement came after both leaders held detailed discussions with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi.

Sources said Shivakumar who was reluctant initially to give up chief ministerial post was finally convinced by Kharge.

Read: Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra: The route to Congress' win?

The new Chief Minister, deputy chief minister and cabinet ministers, will be taking the oath of office on May 20. The swearing-in ceremony will be held in Bangalore at 12:30 pm and will be attended by Congress chief ministers, members of the Gandhi family and party veterans.

The process of electing the chief minister lasted nearly four days, during which both leaders expressed their desire to assume the top post in the state.

​“Siddaramaiah will be the Chief Minister of Karnataka. DK Shivakumar will be the only deputy chief minister and he will continue to serve as president of Pradesh Congress Committee till the 2024 general elections are over,” said Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal.

Meanwhile, the Kantaka Congress' Legislative Party meeting will happen later today at 7pm, said Venugopal.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar played pivotal roles in the Congress party's resounding victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections. Their combined efforts contributed to the party's landslide win, leading to the removal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power.

Following the declaration of the results on May 13, the high swift command convened a legislature party meeting in Bangalore.

At the meeting, a secret ballot was conducted to find out the newly elected lawmakers’ opinion on the potential candidates for the position of chief minister.

According to sources, out of the 135 elected MLAs, 82 cast their votes in favor of Siddaramaiah, a nine-time legislator. The veteran leader also enjoys strong support from voters belonging to the Other Backward Classes community, in addition to the support of workers in various regions of the state.

Congress general secretaries Sushil Kumar Shinde, Deepak Babaria and Jitendra Singh Alwar served as observers during the Karnataka Congress legislature party meeting.

Karnataka Election 2023: Results dampen BJP’s southern ambitions

The magnitude of the Congress's victory is unprecedented in over three decades, both in terms of seats and vote share. The party secured 135 seats, marking an increase of 55 seats compared to the 2018 elections, and obtained a substantial vote share of 42.88 percent.

The closest the Congress previously came to this achievement was in 1999, when it won 132 seats with a vote share of 40.84 percent. In 1989, the party secured 178 seats with a vote share of 43.76 percent.