Kharge to take call on next K’taka CM

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Kharge to take call on next K’taka CM

Monday, 15 May 2023 | Deepak Kumar Jha | New Delhi/Bengaluru

Kharge to take call on next K’taka CM

As anticipated the newly-elected Congress MLAs on Sunday authorised party president Mallikarjun Kharge to pick the next Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Sources within the top leadership of the party told The Pioneer that the Congress has no choice but to adjust by opting for rotational Chief Ministers for two-and-half-years each, in the five-year tenure of the Government. “Both are important — former Chief Minister K Siddaramiah for being the old warhorse and an acceptable caste leader while Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar burnt the midnight oil to wrest power from the BJP in the just-concluded polls,” confided a leader who is privy to the discussions.

Amidst sloganeering by party workers loyal to the probables — Siddaramiah and  Shivakumar — the scheduled Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting at a private hotel in Bengaluru passed a unanimous resolution authorising the party chief to pick its leader.  Sources also said both the factions — Siddaramiah and Shivakumar — are also discussing the relevance of rotation postings as the commitment made on the same lines in Chhattisgarh was never fulfilled.

When Bhupesh Baghel was appointed the CM in 2018 then rival TS Singh Deo, who is a Cabinet Minister in Chhattisgarh, is believed to have been promised elevation to the CM’s post after two-and-half-years but that did not happen and the State is now preparing for the term-end Assembly polls. 

Hiccups were reported at the end of the half tenure when Deo and Baghel had to camp in Delhi and at one point the Government was in jeopardy.

This has been a precedent in the Congress for decades that in the process of formation of Governments, the CLP ultimately authorises the party president to nominate the CM. The Congress scored a thumping win in the May 10 Assembly polls as it secured 135 seats out of 224, while the BJP bagged only 66.

Earlier in the day Congress central observers, along with AICC general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal held a meeting with the Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly Siddaramaiah and  Shivakumar.            

Kharge had deputed former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh and former AICC general secretary Deepak Babaria as observers for the election of the CLP leader.  The party received a boost in its strength when an independent MLA extended his support to the Congress. AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala said Latha Mallikarjun, who got elected as an independent from Harapanahalli Assembly segment has extended unconditional support to the Congress party in the State. Latha Mallikarjun, is daughter of veteran leader and former Deputy Chief Minister, late MP Prakash.

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