New Delhi, May 18: Ending the speculation, the Congress party declared veteran leader Siddaramaiah as the next Chief Minister of Karnataka, with state unit chief D.K. Shivakumar appointed as his deputy.
The delay in announcing the decision was due to a power struggle between the two leaders. However, it was UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi who ultimately convinced Kanakapura MLA Shivakumar to accept the role of Deputy Chief Minister.
Shivakumar had been adamant about being Chief Minister, leading to a series of meetings between senior party leaders over three consecutive days in the national capital. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary, Organisation K.C. Venugopal, Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, and the three central observers—former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh, and Deepak Babaria—had multiple discussions.
According to party sources, Shivakumar refused to step down from the top post in the state until he spoke to Sonia Gandhi. Her call and assurances were instrumental in making Shivakumar agree to the decision.
Siddaramaiah arrived in the national capital on Monday afternoon, while Shivakumar joined him on Tuesday afternoon due to a stomach infection. Both leaders met with Kharge, Surjewala, Venugopal, and Rahul Gandhi to present their cases. Shivakumar also held a separate meeting with Kharge to reiterate his position. It was then that Kharge felt the need to involve former party chief Sonia Gandhi to persuade the Karnataka Congress chief and accept the party’s proposed formula.
During the party’s Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir in Udaipur last year, Sonia Gandhi had encouraged Shivakumar to win Karnataka and assured him of her support, a party source revealed.
After Sonia Gandhi’s phone call, Shivakumar accepted the party’s decision, which was officially announced on Thursday afternoon by Surjewala and Venugopal.
Following the announcement, Shivakumar told the media on Thursday morning, “The party high command has made a decision, and I have accepted it in the best interest of the party.”
The Congress party had achieved a resounding victory in the May 10 elections, winning 135 out of 224 seats, while the ruling BJP was reduced to 66 seats.
