Siddaramaiah resigns as Karnataka Chief Minister, DK Shivkumar set to takeover

PTC News Desk: Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister and submitted his resignation to the Governor, ending a three-year leadership tussle with his deputy DK Shivakumar that had at times created tensions within the Congress government. He also confirmed that Shivakumar would take over as the next Chief Minister.

Emotional scenes were witnessed after the announcement, with several supporters breaking down in tears and touching Siddaramaiah’s feet while meeting him.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Congress unit shared a post on X stressing party unity amid expected criticism from the BJP. Sharing photos of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar hugging and sitting together, the party wrote: “That day, this day, forever… unity is our strength! Public service is our eternal commitment.”

The resignation came after two days of intense meetings and discussions with top Congress leaders in Delhi. Reports said Siddaramaiah was offered a compensation package, including a Rajya Sabha seat, to persuade him to step down.

Over Monday and Tuesday, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar held separate as well as joint meetings with senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and KC Venugopal.

Officially, the meetings were said to be about selecting candidates for three Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka that are becoming vacant this year.