Siddaramaiah to be Karnataka CM, Shivakumar his deputy and PCC chief till 2024 poll
Congress on Thursday formally announced Siddaramaiah as the chief minister of Karnataka. DK Shivakumar will be the sole deputy chief minister and will continue as Karnataka Congress chief, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal announced.
“Shivakumar will continue as the PCC president till the end of parliamentary elections. CM, Dy CM and a group of ministers will be sworn-in on 20th May”, Venugopal said at the briefing.
When asked about speculated power sharing formula hinting at rotational tenure for both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, Venugopal said,”Power sharing formula means sharing it with the people of Karnataka”.
Explaining the delay in making the announcement, Venugopal said,“In the last few days were trying 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 the 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, this 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 and said,”Karnataka’s secure future and our peoples welfare is our top priority, and we are united in guaranteeing that”.