Siddaramaiah In Delhi, DK Shivakumar Stays Back Amid Suspense Over Karnataka CM

The Congress which secured a comfortable majority in the Karnataka Assembly elections 2023, but the question now on everyone's mind is: Who will be the Chief Minister?

All eyes are now riveted on the Congress' central leadership that will pick the new Karnataka chief minister, a decision preceded by intensive consultations, one-on-one interaction with MLAs and even a 'secret ballot'.

After the Congress party's stupendous victory in the May 10 assembly polls, intense lobbying for the chief minister's post in Karnataka started for former chief minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president DK Shivakumar.

The party faces the uphill task of satisfying the two camps and is working on a 'formula'. Both the top Karnataka leaders have been called to Delhi by the party high command for further consultations on government formation in the state.

While Siddaramaiah has reached national capital, DK Shivakumar has taken a U-Turn and dropped the idea of going to Delhi tonight. This has led to speculation that all is not well within the Karnataka Congress even after a massive victory.

Speaking to reporters, DK Shivakumar said,'''I have stomach infection and I will not be travelling to Delhi today.''

The three central observers deputed by the Congress returned to the national capital on Monday after speaking individually to the newly elected MLAs. The observers are putting together the views expressed by all the newly elected MLAs and will hand over the report to party president Mallikarjun Kharge by late Monday night, sources told news agency PTI.

The observers have brought the ballot boxes to Delhi along with them. Kharge is likely to take a decision on who will be the next chief minister of Karnataka soon. He is also likely to hold consultations with top Congress leadership, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, before arriving at a decision. Meanwhile, the party is also gearing up for preparations for making the swearing-in ceremony of the chief minister a big show of strength, where several opposition leaders will be invited.