Karnataka CM post top contenders DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah meet Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge; announcement likely tomorrow: Key points

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leaders held a flurry of high-level meetings on Tuesday amid growing suspense over who will be made the next chief minister of Karnataka. Both the frontrunners, DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah, are in Delhi and met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge separately.
Some media reports said Kharge will also consult UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi as well as Rahul Gandhi before announcing his decision, which might be made by late evening or on Wednesday.An ANI report, citing sources, said the decision could be made from Bengaluru.
Here are the top developments of the day:
Announcement on Wednesday from Bengaluru: Sources
As Congress is still deliberating on the selection of Karnataka's next chief minister, sources told ANI that party president Mallikarjun Kharge will announce the name for the top post on Wednesday in Bengaluru.
According to sources, Kharge will take the final decision after consulting UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former party president Rahul Gandhi.
"No Final decision has been made on the Karnataka CM post yet. Congress president has met all the stakeholders. Congress President has met all the stakeholders. Now the final decision will be taken by him in consultation with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The announcement can be delayed until Wednesday and the announcement can be made in Bengaluru itself," said sources.
Siddaramaiah meets Kharge, Venugopal
Soon after Shivakumar left, Siddaramaiah arrived at Kharge's residence at 10, Rajaji Marg after 6 pm, and the two leaders held discussions on the top post.
Siddaramaiah came to Kharge's residence along with his son Yatindra and MLAs Zameer Ahmad, Bhyrati Suresh, and senior leader KJ George.
After a one-on-one talk that lasted over an hour, Siddaramaiah left Kharge's house and went on to meet the party's general secretary KC Venugopal.
No question of resigning, says DKS before meeting Kharge
Karnataka Congress chief D K Shivakumar, who landed in Delhi on Tuesday, said the party is his mother and there was no question of his resigning from the organisation if he is not given the CM post.

Soon after reaching Delhi, Shivakumar went straight to his brother D K Suresh's residence. "If any channel is reporting that I am resigning from the post, I will file a defamation case against them," he said.
Shivakumar met Kharge later in the evening to discuss the government formation in the southern state after the party staged a stupendous victory by winning 135 seats out of a total of 224.
He left after a 30-minute meeting and did not speak to the media.
Rahul Gandhi meets Kharge
Gandhi drove to Kharge's residence and held a closed-door meeting with the Congress chief for almost an hour and a half.
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala, who is in charge of the party's affairs in Karnataka, and AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal were also present at the meeting.

Kharge earlier held discussions with party leaders from Karnataka and the three observers appointed by him to oversee the Congress Legislature Party meeting held in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Sources said former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi would also be consulted over the choice of chief minister and government formation in Karnataka.
Third player enters
Amid intense lobbying for the CM's post in Karnataka, senior Congress leader G Paraeshwara on Tuesday said he was ready to take up the responsibility if the party high command asked him to run the government.
The former state Congress president said, the high command is aware of his service to the party, and he doesn't feel the need to lobby for the post.
"If the high command decides and asks me to run the government, I'm ready to take up the responsibility," the former deputy CM told reporters.
Parameshwara, a Dalit, was deputy CM during the Congress-JD(S) coalition government led by H D Kumaraswamy. He was also the longest-serving KPCC chief (eight years).
(With inputs from agencies)