More Meetings In Delhi Today As Congress Yet To Pick Between Sidda, Shivakumar As Karnataka Awaits CM
There is no clarity yet as to who will sit in the chair of Karnataka Chief Minister as more meetings are set to take place in Delhi on Wednesday.
The clarity on who will be the Chief Minister of Karnataka seems a far reality as Congress continues to hold meeting after meeting to solve the stagnate crisis. As for the latest, both top CM contenders, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are likely to meet party leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday to discuss the issue. While Siddaramaiah may meet Gandhi at 11:30 am, Shivakumar is likely to meet him at 12 noon. Shivakumar may also meet the party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday to settle the debate. Notably, Shivakumar had met Kharge on Tuesday but nothing came out of the meetings that the leaders did so far.
On Tuesday, both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar met with party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence in New Delhi separately. As per ABP News sources, during his meeting with Kharge, Shivakumar expressed his desire to run the state and opposed Siddaramaiah’s claim for the post saying it was because of the latter that the party lost Lok Sabha polls in 2019 and that their government fell in the state in 2020. He targeted Siddaramaiah during the meeting saying it was because of him that the Congress lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and was unseated in Karnataka in 2020.
On the other hand, shortly after Shivakumar left Kharge’s residence, Siddaramaiah visited the place and held a meeting with the party president. Later Siddaramaiah also met Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal.
Earlier in the day Rahul Gandhi also drove to Kharge’s residence and held a meeting for over 90 minutes. The two top party leaders discussed the issue of chief ministership and modalities of government formation in Karnataka.
While the lobbying between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar for the post of chief minister in Karnataka continues, a third claimant has entered the contest. As per a report by the news agency PTI, G Parameshwara on Tuesday said he was ready to take up the responsibility if the party high command asked him to run the government. He said that the high command was aware of his services to the party and that he does not feel the need to lobby for the post.
ALSO READ | Siddaramaiah Behind Fall Of Congress-JDS Govt In 2019: BJP Leader's Bombshell Amid Karnataka CM Crisis