DK Shivakumar Or Siddaramaiah? CLP Meeting Today To Elect New CM — Top Points

After the thumping victory, the focus for Congress has now shifted to who will become the Chief Minister of the southern state. 

Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar with senior party leader Siddaramaiah ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: As the counting of votes concluded in the state of Karnataka for the 224-member Legislative Assembly, the Congress scored an emphatic victory with 135 seats, while the ruling BJP and the former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) secured 66 and 19, respectively.

After the thumping victory, the focus for Congress has now shifted to who will become the Chief Minister of the state. 

Two front-runners for the coveted post are - Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar.

The Congress party has called a meeting with elected MLAs of Karnataka on Sunday evening to discuss and decide on the Chief Ministerial candidate.

Both the eight-time MLA Shivakumar and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah have made no secret of their ambition to become CM and had been involved in a game of political one-upmanship in the past.

Karnataka Election Results: Who Will Be Karnataka CM?

• The Congress legislature party (CLP) meeting is scheduled to begin at 5.30 pm today, and the newly elected MLAs have already been instructed to come to Bengaluru.
  
  
• Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has deputed Sushil Kumar Shinde (former Maharashtra Chief Minister), Jitendra Singh (AICC GS), and Deepak Babaria (former AICC GS) as observers for the election of the chief minister of Karnataka.
  
  
• Posters have come up in front of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar's residences, erected by supporters, demanding them to be declared as "CM" of the state.
  
  
• According to sources, Congress is working out a formula to split the tenure of the Chief Minister between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. While Siddaramiah, a mass leader, may be made the CM for the first 2.5 years, DK Shivakumar will be handed the responsibility for the next 2.5 years.
  
  
• Speaking to ANI, Karnataka Congress working president Ramalinga Reddy said, "In every party, ambitions will be there. Not only DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah even MB Patil and G Parameshwara are also interested. Only one will become CM & the party's high command & MLAs will decide that."
  
  
• Congress leader Pramod Tiwari told PTI, "The elected members will choose their leader (chief minister) in the meeting (CLP meet). This has been a tradition and rule in the Congress."
  
  
• If Siddaramaiah, who joined Congress after being expelled from JD(S), gets elected as the CLP leader, this will be his second stint as the Chief Minister of the party after having occupied the coveted post for five years between 2013-18. Shivakumar had served as Minister in Siddaramaiah's cabinet.
  
  
• According to party sources, the opinion of newly elected legislators will be sought, and depending on the outcome, they might be asked to vote to elect their leader, if the need arises.
  
  
• There are also other contenders for the post like former Deputy Chief Minister and ex-KPCC President G Parameshwara and veteran leader and seven-time MP K H Muniyappa-- both Dalits and MB Patil-- a Lingayat.