Bengaluru: Congress High Command reportedly has pulled the curtain on the tug-of-war for the post of CM, which was on for the last four days. In the late-night special meeting on May 17, it was decided by the panel of four top functionaries of the party that Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister and D. K. Shivakumar as Deputy CM. Following the consensus many other theories are coming up to the fore which has definitely shown Shivakumar in a sombre light.
The drama of CM selection was going on since May 14 and it could have turned nasty had not the Congress High Command intervened. There were rumours rife among the party circles that DKS if not placated soon might take a very radical step which could have proved ‘dangerous’ for the party’s future. But like a seasoned politician Shivakumar after a long chat with the panel consented to step down from race to the CM’s post.
The High Command had decided to select the CM based on the power-sharing formula. On the other hand, only Shivakumar, the President of KPCC, insisted that he should be made the CM for a full term of five years without agreeing to any power-sharing formula. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on May 20 at 12.30 pm.
Only two leaders – Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar will take the oath on May 20 and at a later date all members of the Council of Ministers will also take oath.
Siddaramiah CM for the second term!
Siddaramaiah is all set to become CM for the second time. Although the election results were declared on May 13, the choice of CM was an iron fist for the Congress High Command. Siddaramaiah was selected as the next CM in a late-night meeting in the presence of High Command leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi. It has been learnt that Shivakumar has agreed to share power following Congress Leader Sonia Gandhi’s promise. The High Command had suggested Siddaramaiah’s name for the first term from the beginning.
It is said that the High Command has given some reasons to Shivakumar for Siddaramaiah’s as the first choice. It is being said that Siddaramaiah will be the CM for the first term i.e. two years and Shivakumar for three years.
It is also learnt that Sonia Gandhi had called up Shivakumar and had asked him to not to press for the CM’s post as the Lok Sabha elections were just around the corner and keeping the interest of the party Shivakumar must sacrifice his claim over the CM’s post.
In addition, the Congress has seen the reason behind choosing Siddaramaiah for the post. The party definitely cannot ignore that Siddaramiah has the support of the groups in AHINDA that he had formed after joining Congress from JD (S). This group is a conglomerate of associations and federations of people belonging to marginalised castes and communities which Siddaramiah had influenced to support the Congress party.
Siddaramiah also got solid support from Rahul Gandhi which boosted Siddaramiah’s chances in the race to the CM’s post.
Most importantly Siddaramiah has become the mass leader not only for the marginalised classes but also for the Muslims in the state, and gives the party a great advantage in fighting the pro-Hindu forces and parties in the state.