Karnataka Election

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.

Hectic parleys are on in New Delhi as former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is in stiff competition with state Congress president D K Shivakumar to become the CM.

Several Congress leaders and workers have claimed that Siddaramaiah is considered the front-runner among the two while Shivakumar is seen taking a strong position, claiming that the assembly polls were won under him as state party chief and that he has worked hard for ensuring this victory.

The 'guarantees' found resonance with voters of the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections 2023, particularly with women, and played a key role in the party's resounding victory, political analysts noted.

Additional Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil, Special Traffic Police Commissioner M.A. Saleem, Joint Police Commissioner Anucheth, VVIP wing DCP Manjunath Babu and Deputy Director of Sports Department Nagaratna also visited and inspected the stadium.

Karnataka Election 2023 winners: According to a research by the Association of Democratic Reforms, 97 percent of winning candidates are crorepatis, and their average stated assets are worth Rs 64.39 crore.

BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya said a sorry state of affairs prevails in Congress where president Mallikarjun Kharge sees himself more as a "postman". "Want to watch circus? Watch the Congress select their CM in Karnataka," he said on Twitter.

On Tuesday, Karnataka's two chief ministerial aspirants Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar held separate meetings with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as the party held hectic consultations to decide on who would lead the government in the southern state.

Reports suggest that the leadership sweetened its offer to Shivakumar by promising him a three-year term if he agreed to Siddaramaiah presiding over the CMO for the first two years of the tenure.

According to reports, Shivakumar, who met Kharge for around 45 minutes, stressed that he took over the job as Congress chief in Karnataka when no one was ready to accept it. Additionally, he said that if he is denied the CM chair, he would prefer working only as an MLA in the party.

Despite staging a stunning victory in the Karnataka election 2023, Congress still has no answers on who will be the state's next chief minister - Siddaramaiah or DK Shivakumar.

Both Shivakumar and former chief minister Siddaramaiah are staking claim on the top post and are set to meet the party's top leadership before a decision on the new chief minister of Karnataka is taken.

On May 10 elections, the Congress registered a thumping victory in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly by winning as many as 136 seats. The ruling BJP and the former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) bagged 66 and 19 seats, respectively.

State Congress chief DK Shivakumar, one of the two contenders for the post, will fly to Delhi today. Before leaving from Bengaluru, he said, "Whether they like me or not, I am a responsible man. I will not backstab and I will not blackmail."

In its manifesto for elections to the 224-member Assembly in Karnataka, the Congress said it was committed to taking firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations spreading hatred amongst communities on grounds of caste and religion.