CM race hots up

High Command to decide; Siddharamaiah leaves for Delhi; D.K. Shivakumar waiting for call

Bengaluru: Who will be the new Chief Minister? KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar (DKS) or former CM Siddharamaiah? The suspense over who will become the next Chief Minister of Karnataka continues even as the swearing-in is proposed for May 18 (Thursday). All eyes are on the Congress High Command
on their pick for the top post.

Intense lobbying for the CM’s post continues between Siddharamaiah and Shivakumar. Siddharamaiah has left for New Delhi this morning and on the other hand, Shivakumar said he has not received a call to visit the National Capital.

As per the latest reports, a majority of the Dalit, minority, tribal and OBC Congress MLAs, especially from the Kalyana Karnataka and Mysuru regions are lobbying hard for Siddharamaiah while the Legislators from coastal, Old Mysuru region and Bengaluru are pitching for Shivakumar.

Highly placed sources told Star of Mysore that while Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are favouring Shivakumar as he has done ground-level mobilisation for the party to come to power and also stood by the party physically and financially during multiple crisis situations, Rahul Gandhi is reluctant and is favouring former Chief Minister Siddharamaiah.

24 to 36-month formula floated

Siddharamaiah has urged the High Command to make him CM for two years and he will voluntarily relinquish the post after 24 months, without asking any other party post so that
DKS can rule Karnataka for three years.

On his part, Shivakumar has told the leaders that he should be considered to rule the State for two years and Siddharamaiah could be the CM for three years. He has also suggested that Siddharamaiah can accept KPCC President’s post for the first two years. It is to be seen if this formula is finalised by the High Command.

When asked whether he will be appointed the CM, Shivakumar said: “I don’t know. I have done whatever job was given to me. We have sent a one-line resolution to Delhi.” On whether he has been asked to come to the national capital by the High Command, he said: “I have not received any call yet. Let’s see.”

Observers return

The three Central Observers — former Maharashtra CM Sushil Kumar Shinde, party General Secretary Jitendra Singh and former AICC General Secretary Deepak Babaria — deputed by the Congress returned to Delhi this morning after speaking individually to the newly-elected MLAs. They were accompanied by Karnataka party in-charge Randeep Surjewala and will hand over the report on the views expressed by the majority of the MLAs to party President Mallikarjun Kharge later in the day. Kharge will take a decision on who will be the next CM and he will hold consultations with top Congress leadership, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

The Observers spoke individually to all the MLAs and sought their opinion on who should be the CM. They spoke after dinner at a private hotel last night and completed the process late at night.

Slogan war at hotel

Earlier, during the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), the MLAs passed a one-line resolution authorising the party President to appoint the CLP Leader who would be the next CM. This was done amidst a slogan war between supporters of Shivakumar and Siddharamaiah outside the venue of the meeting, each section wanting their leader to be the next CM.

Pontiff appeals to High Command

Meanwhile, Adichunchanagiri Mutt Seer Dr. Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji said that he will appeal to Congress High Command to announce D.K. Shivakumar as the Chief Minister.

He said that Shivakumar had a major contribution to Congress winning the Karnataka Assembly election and forming the Government. He also requested them to consider Shivakumar’s service and cooperate in making him the CM.

“We request all the seniors right from Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Siddharamaiah to give Shivakumar an opportunity to run the administration and serve the society,” the Seer said.

He added that Shivakumar had suffered a lot while discharging his duty. “We all saw tears in his eyes yesterday, which were a mix of joy and pain. The man who toiled so much should get the result,” the Pontiff said.