Siddaramaiah to be Karnataka CM and DK Shivakumar his deputy; swearing-in ceremony on May 20
Karnataka CM News: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah will be the next Karnataka Chief Minister while DK Shivakumar would be Deputy Chief Minister.
According to information, the Congress has reached the decision that Siddaramaiah would be the Karnataka CM for a period of 2.5 years, following which DK Shivakumar would takeover as the Karnataka CM.
The swearing-in ceremony would take place on May 20.
"In the larger interest of the party, I have agreed to power-sharing formula, and why not because sometimes the ice should break," DK Shivakumar was reported as saying.
Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said Shivakumar would continue as state Congress chief till the Lok Sabha elections. He would be the only Deputy CM.
"DK Shivakumar will continue as the PCC president till the end of the parliamentary elections. CM, Deputy CM and a group of ministers will be sworn in on May 20," Venugopal said.
"I would like to sincerely thank the people of Karnataka for the victory of the Congress and for standing by the party. Our president Khargeji, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and all the CMs campaigned extensively," Venugopal said.
"We have a very good chunk of leaders there in our party in Karnataka. Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are dynamic leaders and are an asset for the party. Definitely, everyone has a wish and desire of becoming Chief Minister and they deserve it also, both of them deserve it also," he added.
AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, who is in-charge of Karnataka, said Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra laid the foundation of the party's campaign in the state.
Leaders of Opposition parties are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.
The decision on the next Karnataka Chief Minister came following days of hectic parleys in Delhi after the newly elected MLAs authorised party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to choose their leader.
Both Siddaramaiah, a former Chief Minister, and Shivakumar staked their claims to be chief minister. The party leadership held a series of meetings over the past four days and several formulas were mooted before a decision was arrived.
The Congress bagged 135 seats in the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ousting the ruling BJP, which got 66 seats while the Janata Dal (Secular) secured 19 seats
- PTC NEWS
