The newly elected Congress MLAs in Karnataka gave party leader Mallikarjun Kharge the go-ahead to choose the state’s next chief minister as the leadership struggle between Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar, the front-runners for the coveted position, was intensifying.
The three central observers chosen by Kharge, according to AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal, would gather legislators’ opinions and pass them along to the party leader.
“This process of taking the opinion of all MLAs would be completed today itself,” he said.
According to sources, Kharge will receive the observers’ conclusions on Monday.
The Congress Legislature Party unanimously passed a resolution on Sunday night at a private hotel allowing the party chief to choose the party’s leader.
The first single-line resolution, which thanked all of the leaders, workers, and citizens of Karnataka, was proposed by state Congress chairman Shivakumar, according to Randeep Surjewala, AICC in-charge for Karnataka. The second single-line resolution was proposed by former chief minister Siddaramaiah.
“The MLAs would meet the central observers after dinner tonight and their decision will be conveyed to the party president for taking a decision to appoint a new CLP leader,” Surjewala said after the meeting.
Supporters of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were chanting slogans and waving banners and flags outside the meeting location.
While the two leaders met with the MLAs who supported them earlier, a poster battle broke out, with each camp presenting their man as the incoming chief minister.
Sushil Kumar Shinde, a former chief minister of Maharashtra, Jitendra Singh, and Deepak Babaria were appointed by Kharge as observers for the election of the CLP leader.
Before the legislature party meeting, Venugopal, the central observers for the Congress, Siddaramaiah, and Shivakumar were all gathered in a group.
The Congress president, who has already returned to Delhi, had earlier stated that the AICC observers would inform the party’s high command of the MLAs’ views before making a final decision. Additionally, he said that the government will be formed as soon as possible.
The ambitions of Siddaramaiah (75) and Shivakumar (60) to hold the position of chief minister are well known.
Even while Congress was able to present a united front prior to the polls, it will be difficult to keep that unity as the selection process for the chief minister gets under way.
Before the current assembly’s term expires on 24 May, the newly elected assembly in Karnataka must be in place.
Shivakumar is regarded as a “troubleshooter” for the Congress party, but Siddaramaiah, the opposition leader in the outgoing Assembly, is popular across all of Karnataka.
If Siddaramaiah, who joined Congress after leaving JD(S), is chosen as the CLP leader, it will be his second time serving as the party’s chief minister (he previously held the position for five years from 2013 to 2018). The cabinet of Siddaramaiah included Shivakumar as a minister.
Shivakumar emphasised at the meeting of the newly elected MLAs that he had worked hard for the party while bringing everyone along and had never wanted anything for himself.
He recalled that following the defeat of the party in the 2019 by-elections, Siddaramaiah and Dinesh Gundu Rao resigned as president and head of the state unit, respectively, the then-Congress national president Sonia Gandhi placed her trust in him and appointed him president.
Rahul Gandhi visited Shivakumar while he was in jail for a money laundering offence, according to Shivakumar.
The Congress state chief, who won the Assembly election on Saturday from Kanakapura, said, “Everyone was saying that there are differences between me and Siddaramaiah but let me tell you not a single iota of difference is there. I did not give anyone a chance. I just kept myself grounded and walked my path,” Shivakumar told reporters at Nonavinakere here.
A well-known Vokkaliga pontiff of Adi Chunchanagiri Nirmalananda Natha Swamiji made an appeal to the party in support of Sivakumar for the position of CM, claiming that he is the best qualified candidate to lead the state.
Supporters in this area have put up banners in front of the homes of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar thanking them on the victory of the Congress and projecting them as the new chief minister.
Shivakumar has been vocal about his desire to become chief minister at numerous gatherings, particularly those involving Vokkaligas.
Siddaramaiah is renowned for his adept administrative abilities and has seniority on his side. In addition, he takes pride in having presented 13 state budgets. He has a lot of influence within the AHINDA because he is a mass leader.
In this regard, a meeting of all recently elected members and candidates will be conducted soon.
