Siddaramaiah (proper) and DK Shivakumar (left) have been the 2 contenders for Karnataka Chief Minister.
New Delhi:
Siddaramaiah would be the subsequent Chief Minister of Karnataka and DK Shivakumar his deputy, the Congress introduced on Thursday, ending 5 days of suspense after the partys emphatic election win.
The determination was introduced by Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala at a information convention after days of inside wrangling with each contenders pushing for the highest job. Mr Surjewala dodged a query whether or not five-year time period will probably be cut up amongst them saying, “Power-sharing means sharing energy with individuals of Karnataka, nothing else.”
Sources near Mr Shivakumar stated that he had accepted the Number 2 place following an intervention by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The sources stated the veteran chief had agreed to make the “sacrifice within the curiosity of the social gathering”.
DK Suresh, Congress MP and Mr Shivakumar’s brother advised NDTV that they’re “not blissful”. “My brother wished to be Chief Minister. We aren’t proud of this determination,” he stated.
Mr Siddaramaiah and Mr Shivakumar met Congress normal secretary KC Venugopal this morning. This was the primary assembly between the 2 leaders for the reason that tussle for the highest submit started. The two leaders then went to satisfy Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Earlier, Mr Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had made two provides to Mr Shivakumar at a gathering in Delhi on Wednesday. But the meet remained inconclusive, with the highest submit contender turning down each choices, sources stated. Another assembly was held later within the night.
Sources stated the primary choice gave Mr Shivakumar the submit of the state’s single Deputy Chief Minister submit alongside his present job — heading the state social gathering unit. He was additionally supplied six ministries of his alternative.
There was additionally Option 2 — energy sharing between Mr Shivakumar and Mr Siddaramaiah. Under this, Mr Siddaramaiah was to get the highest submit for 2 years, and would have been adopted by Mr Shivakumar for 3 years, sources stated. But sources stated neither Mr Shivakumar nor Mr Siddaramaiah was able to go second.
There is not any readability on whether or not there was a closing determination on the rotational Chief Ministership but. The power-sharing association, it’s learnt, now hinges on the Congress’s efficiency in Karnataka within the normal election subsequent 12 months.
Rather a lot was using on the choice due to subsequent 12 months’s normal election. While Mr Shivakumar has a following among the many state’s politically essential Vokkaligas, Mr Siddaramaiah has the assist of the AHINDA platform — an outdated social mixture of minorities, Other Backward Classes, and Dalits, which had voted en masse for the Congress.
Mr Shivakumar, although, has dominated out rebel. “If the social gathering desires, they may give me the duty… Ours is a united home. I do not need to divide anybody right here. Whether they like me or not, I’m a accountable man. I cannot backstab, and I cannot blackmail,” he has stated.