Could Mallikarjun Kharge Be The Congress’ Surprise Pick As Karnataka CM?

All eyes are on the Karnataka Congress as the party gets set to form the government post a mammoth win.

The question now is who will the Congress pick as the Chief Minister. For now, Siddaramaiah appears to be the frontrunner for the post. However knowing Karnataka, politics is not always simple and there could be some drama.

It is also a well known fact that D K Shivakumar is also eyeing for the post. While this issue has been playing on since the start of the elections, Rahul Gandhi has made every effort to show that the party is united, the party would ensure that there is no mess up on the leadership front.

Let us look at the top contenders:

Siddaramaih: He made waves when he announced that this would be his last election. Siddaramaiah has denied any differences with Shivakumar, but it is a well known fact that he is harbouring ambitions yet again. He also said that the opinion of all the MLAs will be taken, following which a decision will be taken. It is yet to be seen how many MLAs out of the 137 are loyal to him.

D K Shivakumar: Shivakumar is a favourite with the high command. He commands every right to seek the post of CM as it was under his leadership that the party won Karnataka. He has also been an aspirant for long. Further in Congress circles it is said that the Karnataka leg of Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' was the best thanks to the organisational capabilities of Shivakumar. He has maintained that he would abide by whatever the party decides.

Mallikarjun Kharge: Now if the Congress is unable to broker any truce between Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah on the issue of CM, then Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge could be a surprise candidate. Shivakumar also threw up a surprise by saying that he is willing to work under Kharge. He is my party's president. He is 20 years my senior and in the event of him becoming CM, I am ready to work under him, Shivakumar had said.

G Parameshwara: When the elections began, G Parameshwara who was party chief when the Congress won the 2013 polls, said that he is ready to become the CM. "The high command will decide and if given an opportunity, he is ready," he had said.