‘The winning team’: Kharge's photo-op with DKS & Siddaramaiah after CM decision
DK Shivakumar had said he accepted the party's ‘power sharing formula’ in the larger interests of the party.
With Siddaramaiah being named as Karnataka chief minister and DK Shivakumar his deputy, all eyes are now set on the Congress legislative party (CLP) meeting today in Bengaluru wherein a formal declaration is expected to be made.
Both the leaders, who had pushed themselves for the top post after the Congress won the assembly elections, met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence. In a photo shared by party's in-charge Randeep Surjewala on Twitter, the three leaders are posing for a picture while holding hands together. “The winning team”, the caption read.
Earlier, the Congress finally made the decision after days of hectic parleys relating to the CM post in Karnataka. Siddaramaiah was picked as the chief minister by the party high command and will take oath on May 20. It will the 75-year-old leader's second term in office.
Shivakumar, 61, had too held ground before accepting the decision. “The Congress party we have a commitment before the people of Karnataka. Parliament elections are ahead. So, I have to bow to the AICC president and the Gandhi family. In the larger interest of the party (I have agreed to the formula) and why not, because sometimes the ice should break. Ultimately, there is a responsibility towards what we have a commitment to the people of Karnataka and we have to deliver,” he said.
The Vokkaliga leader is considered as the ‘troubleshooter' for the Congress, and had taken over as the KPCC chief in 2019 following the party's poor show in the bypolls held that year.
