Karnataka CM race: How Congress leadership broke the logjam

NEW DELHI: After four days of hectic high-level meetings, the Congress on Thursday finally announced that Siddaramaiah would be the next Karnataka chief minister while D K Shivakumar would be his deputy.
A Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting held in Bengaluru late on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader, paving his way to take over as CM.The party said that Shivakumar will continue as state chief till the conclusion of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The oath-taking ceremony will be held on May 20, exactly a week after results were announced for the state polls that saw the Congress get an overwhelming majority of 135 seats in the 224-member House. Besides CMs of Congress-held states, several opposition leaders have also received invites for the ceremony.
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar have all received invites.
Celebrations turn tense
The post-election celebrations in Karnataka had given way to tense talks as both the stalwarts of Karnataka Congress dug in their heels and claimed their right to the top post.

Former state CM Siddaramaiah was seen as an obvious choice due to his experience and popularity, but it was Shivakumar's efforts as state party president that had brought Congress back to power.
Up to Kharge
The Congress Legislature Party meeting held in Bengaluru on May 14 failed to give a decision and passed a one-line resolution authorising Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge to make the tough decision.

The three observers that were deputed by Kharge to oversee the CLP meeting conducted a secret ballot and then noted down the views of every newly elected MLA. They later presented the report to the party president.
Claimants land in Delhi
A day after the CLP meeting, Siddaramaiah flew to Delhi and held a host of meetings with top leaders to gain support for his claim.
Shivakumar landed in the national capital a day after Siddaramaiah and maintained that the CM post was rightfully his, repeatedly highlighting that the party had won 135 seats under his watch.
A flurry of meetings
Over the course of two days, former party president Rahul Gandhi, general secretary KC Venugopal, state in-charge Randeep Surjewala and a host of other top leaders were frequently seen visiting the residence of Kharge, offering suggestions and possible formulas to keep both the claimants happy.
Kharge also consulted with UPA president Sonia Gandhi, according to many media reports.
On May 16, Rahul held consultations with Kharge for around 90 minutes.

The party president also met Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar separately. While the meeting with Shivakumar lasted round 30 minutes, Siddaramaiah was at Kharge's residence for over an hour.
Rahul and Sonia
The final round of talks started on May 17 when both the leaders met Rahul Gandhi at his residence.

Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah also spoke to Sonia Gandhi, who was away in Shimla on a vacation. Sonia also asked Shivakumar to speak to Kharge and Rahul to sort out the matter, sources said.
Sources added that after Rahul told both the leaders to sit together and work out a solution with Kharge, it was the party chief who told Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to hold talks with Venugopal and Surjewala, and sort out the differences and agree to Siddaramaiah as CM.
Group of ministers
The decision, sources said, was chalked out in the wee hours of Thursday when all parties agreed to accommodate confidantes of both the leaders and asked Shivakumar to continue on the post of state Congress chief till the next year's Parliamentary elections.
To maintain his number 2 position in the Karnataka government, Shivakumar was made the only deputy chief minister.
Around 20 ministers will also be taking the oath on May 20.
(With inputs from agencies)