Congress decision on Karnataka CM name likely today, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar frontrunners

Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah has said that the party’s top leadership is likely to arrive at a decision on the next Chief Minister of Karnataka on Monday, the former CM said in an interview with India Today just ahead of his scheduled visit to Delhi.

Siddaramaiah is among the two top claimants to the post of Chief Minister, with the other being KPCC president DK Shivakumar. Both leaders have made no two bones about their chief ministerial aspirations and yet, successfully managed to keep their differences aside for the duration of the campaign, and the results.

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On Sunday, Congress leaders who met to choose the legislature party leader unanimously empowered the Congress president to decide on the Chief Minister’s name.

The Congress leadership — the Gandhis and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge — are believed to be considering three possibilities to resolve the impasse.

While two scenarios would see either Siddaramaiah or Shivakumar being appointed as the CM, the third possibility could be a rotational chief ministership, with both leaders serving on the position for an agreed tenure within the five years of power.

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Media reports suggest that Siddaramaiah has mooted the idea of him serving as the CM for two years while Shivakumar would serve for the remaining three. However, the proposal has reportedly been shot down by Shivakumar who remains firm on his demand.

It remains to be seen if the Congress, in the absence of a resolution, would opt for a consensus candidate as CM who would be acceptable, even if reluctantly, to both Siddaramaiah as well as Shivakumar. In the past, Shivakumar has stated that working under Mallikarjun Kharge, who also hails from Karnataka, should not be an issue for either him or Siddaramaiah.

The impasse in Karnataka, after the Congress swept into power with a resounding mandate on Saturday, comes on the heels of another storm brewing in Rajasthan where the party has a government.

Sachin Pilot, the former RPCC president and deputy CM has opened a front against CM Ashok Gehlot over the government’s inaction in matters of alleged corruption.

Besides Karnataka and Rajasthan, the Congress also faces conflicts over leadership in Chhattisgarh where senior party leader TS Singh Deo has challenged CM Bhupesh Baghel. Both Rajasthan and Karnataka go to polls in less than six months from now.

In the recently-concluded Karnataka elections, the Congress bagged 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly, followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party at 66. The Janata Dal (Secular), on the other hand, finished third with 19 seats.