Siddaramaiah Will Be CM for 5 Years: MB Patil Gives A Twist To Power-Sharing Story

Congress MLA and Karnataka minister MB Patil has said that Siddaramaiah will be the Chief Minister for the next five years, thereby giving a twist to the story of the power-sharing agreement between Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar.

"Siddaramaiah will be the CM for five years. If there was a power-sharing agreement, senior leaders would have informed. There is no proposal like that. If there was such a proposal, KC Venugopal or AICC general secretary would have informed," ANI quoted MB Patil as saying.

His statement has taken many by surprise as there were reports earlier that Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar would be Chief Minister for 2.5 years, each. It was said that the two leaders agreed on the power-sharing agreement.

However, political observers feel that Siddaramaiah's CM post is safe only till the 2024 Lok Sabha and the high command might consider changing the guard if it fails to put up a good performance in the General Elections.

In the recently-held Assembly polls, Congress secured a thumping victory by defeating the BJP, which bagged 66, and the JDS, which was reduced to 19. After much deliberation, D K Shivakumar agreed to be deputy to Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar along with eight others took the oath as ministers on Saturday. The event became a stage to display Opposition unity ahead of the 2024 polls.

Meanwhile, five-time MLA UT Khader is set to become Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

Khader filed his nomination at the office of Assembly Secretary in the presence of Siddaramaiah, D K Shivakumar, Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and other Congress leaders.

The election to the post of Speaker is scheduled for Wednesday.