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Bangalore. The newly elected Karnataka (Karnataka ) Congress MLAs on Sunday authorized party president Mallikarjun Kharge to decide the name of the leader of the legislature party, ie the chief minister. The Congress Legislature Party meeting held at a private hotel here on Sunday evening passed a unanimous resolution giving the party president the right to choose the leader of the Legislature Party. Earlier, Congress central observers held a meeting with Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President DK Shivakumar.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge appointed senior leaders Sushilkumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria as observers to elect the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Karnataka. In the elections to the 224-member assembly in the state, the Congress won 135 seats in a landslide victory, while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) won 66 and 19 seats, respectively.
KC Venugopal said – new CM with the opinion of the MLAs
Explaining about the process of opinion polling of MLAs after the CLP meeting, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal said, “This process of taking opinion of MLAs will be completed tonight itself.” As Randeep Singh Surjewala said, it was a unanimous resolution moved by Siddaramaiah and supported by DK Shivakumar and all senior leaders.
Informed the party about the decision: Surjewala
All India Congress Committee (AICC) Karnataka in-charge Randeep Surjewala said that the first resolution was moved by state Congress chief Shivakumar thanking all the leaders and workers and people of Karnataka, while the second one-line resolution was moved by former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. After the meeting, Surjewala said, “The MLAs will meet the central observers after dinner tonight and their decision will be conveyed to the party president, so that a decision can be taken on the appointment of the new legislature party leader.”
Sloganeering among the supporters of both the leaders
Supporters of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar shouted slogans and waved banners outside the venue of the meeting. Earlier, both the leaders held meetings with their loyal MLAs. A poster war also broke out between the two sides projecting their leader as the next chief minister. Kharge had appointed former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Congress general secretary Jitendra Singh and former party general secretary Deepak Babaria as observers for the CLP leader’s election. Ahead of the Congress Legislature Party meeting, Venugopal along with Congress central observers held discussions with Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
Kharge reached Delhi
Kharge, who has returned to Delhi, had earlier said that AICC observers would convey the opinion of party legislators to the high command, after which a final decision would be taken. He also said that the government will be formed soon.
Both Siddaramaiah and DK claimed
Both Siddaramaiah (75) and Shivakumar (60) have made no secret of their ambition to become chief minister. The Congress managed to forge unity ahead of the election, but faces a difficult situation in maintaining that unity as the process of choosing a chief minister begins. In Karnataka, the newly elected assembly has to be formed before the term of the previous assembly ends on May 24.
One ‘troubleshooter’ and the other ‘popular’
While Shivakumar is considered a “troubleshooter” for the Congress party, Siddaramaiah, the leader of the opposition in the outgoing assembly, is popular across the state. If Siddaramaiah is elected as the CLP leader, it will be his second term as the party’s chief minister after holding the post for five years between 2013-18. Shivakumar had served as a minister in Siddaramaiah’s cabinet.
