DK Shivakumar meets Kharge after Rahul Gandhi gives his choice for Karnataka CM

Back-to-back meetings took place on Monday as hard bargaining is believed to be going on before the Congress announces the name of the Karnataka chief minister. It will be either Siddararamaiah, the former Karnataka chief minister, or DK Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress chief. At 5pm on Tuesday, DK Shivakumar reached Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence an hour before Kharge's meeting with Siddaramaiah is scheduled at 6pm. Before these meetings, Mallikarjun Kharge had a word with Rahul Gandhi and the decision on the top post seems to be already made. Kharge and DK Shivakumar's meeting lasted for 30 minutes.

Siddaramaiah vs DKS: What happened in key meetings:

1. According to reports, Rahul Gandhi seems to have thrown weight for Siddaramaiah who possibly has more support for his CM-ship.

2. The Congress reportedly deliberated several formulas like deputy chief minister or rotational CM post, plum berths in the cabinet etc., to keep both Siddaramaiah and DKS happy.

3. In the negotiation, D Shivakumar reportedly sought Sonia Gandhi's view as well as since the result day, DKS has been saying that he was trusted by Sonia Gandhi and he delivered.

4. DKS and Mallikarjun Kharge share an amicable equation and before the election, DKS even pitched for Mallikarjun Kharge for the CM post.

5. Meanwhile, it was rumoured that DKS will be resigning from the post of the Karnataka state unit which DKS denied and said he will file a defamation case if some media runs this story.

6. DK Shivakumar said the party is his mother and there is no question of resigning.

7. The race tilted in favour of Siddaramaiah when DK Shivakumar cancelled his Delhi plan on Monday.

8. But it was possibly a pressure tactic to extract a better bargain from the top leadership. DK Shivakmar's brother DK Suresh met Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday late evening.

9. Congress leader Pawan Khera said the decision will be taken in a day or two. "Appointing a Chief Minister is not an easy thing. It cannot be imposed from Delhi... Everybody's view has to be taken into consideration. We have to engage with every stakeholder and then decide who the chief minister will be," he said. The swearing-in of the new government is likely to be on May 18.