Siddaramaiah to be next Karnataka CM, DK Shivakumar to be his deputy; oath on May 20
Synopsis
Siddaramaiah will take oath as the next chief minister of Karnataka, while Congress state president DK Shivakumar will take charge as his deputy. Shivakumar will continue as the PCC president till the end of parliamentary elections.
Siddaramaiah will be the next chief minister of Karnataka with DK Shivakumar as his deputy, ending days of uncertainty. Shivakumar will also continue as the PCC president till the end of parliamentary elections, announced KC Venugopal, Congress General Secretary.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge worked till late night Wednesday over the next CM in Karnataka and arrived at a consensus for government formation.
The oath-taking ceremony will be held in Bengaluru on May 20. This comes as negotiations between Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former Chief Rahul Gandhi continued throughout the day on Wednesday. DK Shivakumar, the leader of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), attended the meeting to help find a solution.
Following Congress's overwhelming victory in the state Assembly election conducted on May 10, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar were engaged in a fight for the position of chief minister.
In the Karnataka Assembly election, the Congress secured a resounding victory, taking 135 of the state's 224 seats and displacing the BJP from office. The JD(S), which had planned to act as the kingmaker, came in last place with only 19 seats, well behind the BJP in second place with 66 seats.
Meanwhile, the implementation of the five ‘guarantees’ announced by Congress may cost the state exchequer an estimated Rs 50,000 crore annually. Important party officials emphasised that one could not label the welfare measures "freebies" since they were tools for empowerment when they discussed the expense of the welfare programmes.
Political observers noticed that the 'guarantees' resonated with voters in the May 10 Assembly elections, particularly with women, and were a major factor in the party's landslide victory.
Also read: Five Congress 'guarantees' in Karnataka may cost state exchequer Rs 50,000 crore annually
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