Confirmed: Siddaramaiah to be next Karnataka Chief Minister

Update (May 18, 2:38 PM): The announcement was made by Congress General Secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, during a press conference at the party headquarters, he said, “The Congress President Shri @kharge has authorised me to convey his decision: Shri @siddaramaiah will be the new Chief Minister of Karnataka, and Shri @DKShivakumar will be the only one Deputy CM of the state. @DKShivakumar ji will continue as the KPCC President until the parliamentary election is over.”

Venugopal further added, that both the chief minister, deputy chief minister and group of other ministers will take oath on May 20. The opposition leaders are also expected to attend the oath ceremony. 

Notably, the decision on the next Karnataka CM came following the hectic parleys in Delhi. Both, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar staked their claims to be the next chief minister of the state. 

Congress bagged 135 seats in the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly polls ousting the ruling BJP, which got 66 seats while the Janata Dal (Secular) JDS secured 19 seats.  

Congress’s Siddaramaiah named as new CM of Karnataka

After days of speculation and suspense over the next Karnataka CM, Congress on Thursday chose Siddaramaiah for the top job. Whereas, KPCC President DK Shivakumar has been chosen as the Deputy CM. As per sources, the oath-taking ceremony will take place on May 20. Apart from this, Congress is also likely to elect its new CLP leader today.

It is also anticipated that the party will make an official announcement in the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Thursday evening in Bengaluru. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief DK Shivakumar has written to all legislators to attend the meeting of newly elected MLAs, MLCs and MPs at India Gandhi Bhawan on Queen’s Road, Bengaluru.

An invitation to the opposition leaders will also be circulated to attend the swearing-in ceremony by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. It is also said that other senior leaders of the Congress party will also witness the oath ceremony. As per sources, the talks went on till late Wednesday night to break the political deadlock over the next chief minister.