Bengaluru: With highly placed sources confirming that senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah will be the next Chief Minister of Karnataka and party’s state unit president D K Shivakumar will be his deputy, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge is expected to make a formal announcement in this regard on Monday after the party’s impressive victory in the crucial assembly elections held in the southern state. According to reports, Congress observers appointed by the party president will meet in Delhi and hold discussions with the central leadership, which includes Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Rahul Gandhi to formally seal the names of the new Karnataka CM - Siddaramaiah - and his deputy - D K Shivakumar - in all likelihood.


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Amid intense lobbying from both sides, both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are also likely to arrive in the national capital later today to meet the Congress high command. However, sources said that both top Karnataka leaders have been advised to come to Delhi only if summoned by the Congress top brass.   


Earlier, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, said that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge will not take long and announce the name of the next chief minister of Karnataka very soon.


Speaking to reporters after a late-night meeting of newly elected Congress MLAs in Karnataka's Bengaluru on Sunday, Surjewala said, "Party leadership will take a decision. I can't replace my judgement with Kharge Sahab's judgement. He is our senior, and as you all know him. He is the son of the soil of Karnataka, and I'm sure he will not take very long." 



"The winning party will be in the first cabinet when we will implement our first five guarantees," he said while responding to a query on plans for the oath-taking ceremony after the decision on the new CM of Karnataka.


CLP Authorises Kharge To Pick New CM


The meeting was convened after Congress Legislature Party (CLP) unanimously passed a resolution authorising party president Mallikarjun Kharge to pick the name of the Karnataka Chief Minister. "The Congress Legislature Party unanimously resolves that AICC President is hereby authorised to appoint the new leader of the Congress Legislature Party," the resolution stated.


The meeting which started late on Sunday night at a hotel in Bengaluru, continued till 1.30 am. It was attended by all 135 newly elected MLAs. Former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and party leaders Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria were present in the meeting as observers. Party leaders like Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and others also attended the meeting.


"Entire process of meeting individual legislators of Congress party has been completed with great bohemia. The observers met all the MLAs separately and recorded their views and now they will submit a report to the Congress leadership and after that, we will announce the next leader of the Congress Legislature Party," AICC in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala further told reporters.


When asked if there were any gifts being planned for Siddaramaiah or DK Shivakumar on the latter's birthday, Surjewala said, "I am not a party to those discussions as General Secretary I'm a simple worker to Congress who stood out with all my legislatures. We were sitting together and planning the future of Karnataka which is more important to us. We also celebrated DK Shivakumar's birthday together."


Why Siddaramaiah as Karnataka CM?


According to sources, Congress is eyeing the 2024 Lok Sabha polls after its triumph in Karnataka. For the same, the Congress hopes to cash on Siddaramaiah's mass appeal across the state. The party is now hoping to project Siddaramaiah as its main 'face' and Shivakumar as the manager for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 


AHINDA Formula


The Congress believes that Karnataka's popular - AHINDA formula - played a big role to play in its victory. Ahinda is a Kannada acronym for 'Alpasankhyataru' or minorities, 'Hindulidavaru' or backward classes, and 'Dalitaru' or Dalits. It is said that Siddaramaiah is an expert in managing this vote bank and enjoys mass appeal among these communities. For the same reason, the party doesn't wish to go against Siddaramaiah, who has a history of rebels against former bosses in Janata Dal factions.


Earlier in the day, DK Shivakumar dropped major hints to the public about his desire for the top post. In order to placate Shivakumar - considered pivotal for Congress victory in Karnataka - the high command decided to award him top ministries of the state. A huge number of supporters gathered outside the residence of Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru on Sunday and raised slogans of 'We want DK Shivakumar as CM'.


Congress, which registered an emphatic victory defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka on Saturday, had been facing the challenge of deciding the chief minister amid speculations of Siddaramaiah being the front-runner followed by state party president DK Shivakumar. Kharge, earlier in the day, appointed three observers in Karnataka including former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and party leaders Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria for the election of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader in the state.


According to the Election Commission of India, Congress won 135 seats pushing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power in the only southern state it ruled and boosting its own prospects for the electoral battles ahead. BJP managed to win 66 seats. Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) bagged 19 seats. Independents have won two seats while Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha won one seat each.