Following days of deliberation, Congress announced on Thursday that party leader Siddaramaiah will be the next Karnataka Chief Minister, with DK Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister.
KC Venugopal, the Congress general secretary (organisation), made the announcement at the party’s headquarters here. He stated that Shivakumar will remain as state Congress chief until the Lok Sabha elections. He will serve as the sole Deputy Chief Minister.
“DK Shivakumar will continue as the PCC president till the end of parliamentary elections. CM, Deputy CM and a group of ministers will be sworn in on May 20,” Venugopal said.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will invite opposition leaders to the swearing-in ceremony of the new Karnataka chief minister and deputy chief minister, ANI reported citing sources.
The event will be attended by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Rai Bareli MP Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and other senior party leaders, according to sources. The inauguration will take place on May 20 in Bengaluru.
When Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy was sworn in as the chief minister of Karnataka’s coalition government in 2018, a slew of opposition leaders were present.
The Congress is set to name Siddaramaiah as Karnataka’s next chief minister, and a formal announcement will be made at a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) this evening in Bengaluru. According to ANI reports, while Siddharamaiah will be appointed Chief Minister, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar will be appointed Deputy Chief Minister.
The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief, Shivakumar, has written to all legislators, inviting them to a meeting of newly-elected MLAs, MLCs, and MPs today at 7 p.m. at the Indira Gandhi Bhavan on Queen’s Road in Bengaluru.
Congress President Kharge worked until late Wednesday night to break the political impasse over the next chief minister and reach an agreement on government formation. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has dispatched Central Observers to Bengaluru to oversee the CLP Meeting.
Shivakumar, who arrived at General Secretary KC Venugopal’s residence in the national capital last evening, told reporters that the party high command had made the decision on the chief minister.
