Siddaramaiah Elected Congress Legislative Party Leader, Set For 2nd Term As CM

A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader and Chief Minister of Karnataka, following which he staked his claim with the Governor, who invited him to form the government.

Ending days of suspense, the Congress central leadership earlier on Thursday announced that Siddaramaiah would be the chief minister, while state party chief D K Shivakumar would be his only deputy.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced the decision, stating, "We have finalized Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, with DK Shivakumar as the sole Deputy Chief Minister." Additionally, Shivakumar will continue to hold the position of the party's Karnataka state president until the conclusion of the 2024 parliamentary elections.

The meeting of newly-elected Congress MLAs, MLCs and MPs, which took place at Indira Gandhi Bhavan, was also attended by AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and two other central observers -- former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh.

According to Surjewala, Shivakumar moved a resolution to elect Siddaramaiah as the new leader of the CLP. All the members of the CLP endorsed it unanimously.

Following this, Siddaramaiah along with Shivakumar and other Congress leaders met Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at Raj Bhavan and staked his claim to form the government.

The Governor invited Siddaramaiah to take oath as Chief Minister and Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister along with their team members at 12.30 PM on May 20 at Kanteerva Stadium here, the Governor's letter addressed to the new CLP leader said.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for May 20 at 12:30 pm in Bengaluru. The event is expected to symbolize the unity of the opposition against the BJP, as Congress has extended invitations to various regional party leaders from across several states.