AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the meeting will be held at 5.30 pm on Sunday and all MLAs will take part in it. The Congress already instructed the new members to arrive in Bengaluru on Saturday itself.
A day after Congress registered a thumping victory in Karnataka, the only south Indian state that had BJP in power, the party will hold its crucial Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Sunday (May 14).
AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the meeting will be held at 5.30 pm on Sunday and all MLAs will take part in it. The Congress already instructed the new members to arrive in Bengaluru on Saturday itself.
The Congress has gained an absolute majority in the state winning as many as 136 seats. However, all eyes will be on who is the new chief minister. The leading contenders for the top post are former chief minister and Kuruba strongman Siddaramaiah (75) and KPCC chief and Vokkaliga strongman DK Shivakumar (60).
While Siddaramaiah is a mass leader who holds sway over the 'Ahinda' (minorities, backward classes and Dalits) vote bank of the Congress, Shivakumar the go-to man of the Gandhi family, who has bailed out his party at times of crises (shielding the Congress MLAs from being "poached" thrice) and has strived to strengthen the party at the grassroots ever since his elevation as the party chief in July 2020.
Meanwhile, supporters of Siddaramaiah put up a poster outside Siddaramaiah's residence in Bengaluru, referring to him as "the next CM of Karnataka."
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Meanwhile, it is reportedly said that the party is likely to vote and elect the new chief minister as it did in Himachal Pradesh. All MLAs will reportedly be asked to vote for their choice of the chief minister. The election will be overseen by AICC observers.
The other possibility is to bring about a power-sharing pact wherein both will get to be the leader for a certain period.