After three days of intense discussions and deliberations within the Congress party, the selection of the next Chief Minister of Karnataka reached its conclusion in the early hours of Thursday. In a tightly contested race between veteran leader Mr. Siddaramaiah and state president DK Shivakumar, the party ultimately chose Mr. Siddaramaiah for the coveted position. This decision followed the Congress party’s recent success in winning a significant majority in the state after a five-year gap.
During the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, a resolution was passed granting the Congress president the authority to appoint the CLP leader.
The three observers appointed by the Congress party to gather the opinions of the party’s MLAs regarding the next Chief Minister submitted their report to party president Mallikarjun Kharge around 8 pm on Monday.
Mr. Kharge discussed the report with the party’s General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and state in-charge Randeep Surjewala to devise a solution for the deadlock.
As DK Shivakumar showed resistance and canceled his planned trip to Delhi, Mr. Kharge met with his brother and Lok Sabha MP DK Suresh to convey a message to the Karnataka state president, urging him to come to Delhi for further discussions.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi met with Mr. Kharge and Mr. Venugopal on Tuesday afternoon. Sources revealed that Mr. Gandhi referred to the party’s tradition of selecting a Chief Minister based on the support of MLAs without explicitly naming any leader.
Following the meeting with Mr. Gandhi, Mr. Kharge separately met both Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Siddaramaiah in the evening. Although his office referred to these meetings as “courtesy visits,” sources stated that Mr. Kharge sought the opinions of both leaders on the contentious issue. Later, Mr. Kharge also held wider consultations with several leaders from the central and state units of the party.
On Wednesday, Mr. Siddaramaiah met Rahul Gandhi at 11:30 am, followed by Mr. Shivakumar. At 12.30 pm, sources disclosed that Mr. Gandhi asked both leaders to “abide by the decision of the AICC president and work in the interest of the party.”
Mr. Shivakumar was called to meet Mr. Kharge at his residence on Tuesday evening, where he was informed about the party leadership’s decision to appoint Mr. Siddaramaiah as the CLP leader due to the majority support from MLAs. However, Mr. Shivakumar refused to accept the decision and emphasized his contribution to the party’s victory in the state.
As the impasse persisted, Mr. Kharge had a phone call with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday evening. During this call, the party leadership firmly decided to align with the views of the majority of MLAs regarding the chief ministership.
Mr. Kharge held a meeting with Mr. Venugopal and Mr. Surjewala at around 8 pm to strategize on how to bring Mr. Shivakumar on board with the decision. In this two-hour meeting, it was decided to offer the position of Deputy Chief Minister to Mr. Shivakumar, along with the portfolios of his choice. Mr. Venugopal subsequently met separately.
