Behind The Scenes: How Congress Finally Clinched The Karnataka CM Deal

The 'natak' in Karnataka finally came to an end with the Congress closing in on who would be the next chief minister of the state.

The final deal is that Siddaramaiah would be the chief minister, while D K Shivakumar would be his deputy. Both leaders were not willing to let go of the top post and there have bene hectic deliberations in Delhi since Sunday.

In the run up to the decision there have been scores of meetings in Delhi. Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar met with party chief, Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. A committee too had been formed to oversee the matter.

While by Wednesday afternoon it had been reported that Siddaramaiah would be the next chief minister, the Congress party categorically denied it. Kharge is said to have worked the entire night to convince the two leaders. Finally, it was decided that the post of chief minister would be on a rotational basis.

The Congress has had a tough time to get Shivakumar on board. He is said to have agreed following a late night meeting with Sonia Gandhi.

During the meeting Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had made two offers to Shivakumar. However it remained inconclusive. The first option gave Shivakumar the state's single Deputy Chief Minister post alongside his current job of being the state president of the party. He was also offered six ministries of his choice.

The other option was a power sharing option between the two leaders. However in this case both leaders had refused to relent. Shivakumar was told that Siddaramaiah would be the chief minister for two years, following which he could take over for the next three years.

During the meetings, Shivakumar had cited his work as party president over the past four years. He said that he had rebuilt the party after a large chunk of MLAs walked away, which led to the fall of the JD(S)-Congress government. He also said that he had led the party to a massive mandate in the just concluded elections, the results of which were declared on May 13. The Congress ended up with 135 seats in the 224 member house.