Congress solves Karnataka conundrum with no mention of split terms

After a four-day wait, the Congress Party has solved the conundrum of who will be the next Chief Minister of Karnataka on Thursday (18 May) by naming Siddaramaiah as the chief minister and DK Shivakumar as his sole deputy.

Reports said the grand old party talked about a rotational tenure of two-and-a-half years each for both leaders, however, there was no talk on this at the party briefing confirming the CM announcement.

When asked about speculated power-sharing formula, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal said, "Power sharing formula means sharing it with the people of Karnataka".

The CM and deputy CM, along with a few other ministers, will be sworn into their new roles at Bengaluru's Kanteerava stadium on Saturday (20 May) at 12:30pm, KC Venugopal said.

Explaining the delay in making the announcement, Venugopal said, "In the last few days were trying to a consensus. In Karnataka, we have dynamic leaders. Siddaramaiah is an experience and senior most politicians… everyone has the wish to be CM and both deserve it also. Our Congress leader has a series of consultations with senior leaders. Finally, the Congress president took a decision".

"Both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are both capable of becoming CM", Randeep Surjewala, the AICC in-charge for Karnataka, said.

The Congress has also said 'like-minded' party leaders will be invited for the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, signalling that Saturday's event will be a platform for opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The formal announcement comes days after intense huddles from Bengaluru to the national capital as both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had held ground as claimants to the chief minister's post. The Congress legislative party (CLP) will meet again today evening in Bengaluru, days after it had authorised Kharge to pick the CM.

"Whatever AICC said is my response as well," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Shivakumar tweeted a photo of him with Siddaramaiah and Kharge, saying, "Karnataka's secure future and our people's welfare is our top priority, and we are united in guaranteeing that".

The Congress party emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka after witnessing a big win in the 10 May assembly election, securing 135 seats and giving the state a decisive mandate.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) meanwhile won 66 seats and the regional party, the Janata Dal (Secular), managed to get 19 seats.