Kharge postman, refers to some High Command: Amit Malviya on Karnataka CM issue

As the Congress is yet to announce the name of the Karnataka chief minister, three days after it won a majority in the southern state, BJP's Amit Malviya said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge sees himself more as a postman and not a decision-maker. He keeps referring to some High Command, Malviya commented as the Karnataka CM decision now lies with Kharge after the three observers submitted their report to Kharge.

Who will be Karnataka CM? Follow LIVE updates

Hectic parleys are being held and the stage of the developments shifted from Bengaluru to Delhi where both the top contenders -- Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar -- are present. Siddaramaiah reached Delhi on Monday evening, while DK Shivakumar cancelled his Delhi plan at the very last moment citing a stomach infection. Though DKS dismissed speculations of infighting, his sudden decision to defer his Delhi visit by some hours while his brother MP DK Suresh visited Mallikarjun Kharge's residence at 10pm was seen as a pressure tactic. On Tuesday, Shivakumar arrived in Delhi.

"The BJP also holds discussions and deliberations to elect its CMs and has often ensured smooth transition of power, even between CMs. Despite elaborate consultations, you will never find BJP aspirants falling over each other, rallying supporters and issuing veiled threats to the Party through the media," Amit Malviya wrote.

Karnataka CM decision: Here is a timeline of what happened so far

1. On May 13 (Saturday), the Congress wrested Karnataka from the BJP in a thumping majority winning 135 seats.

2. A Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting was called on May 14 (Sunday) to decide the name of the chief minister. The top two contenders are Siddaramaiah, who served as the chief minister between 2014 and 2018, and Congress Karnataka president DK Shivakumar.

3. The CLP authorised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to take the final call on the CM decision.

4. The Congress sent three central observers to submit a report to Kharge after speaking to the newly elected MLAs in Karnataka.

5. The observers -- Sushilkumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria -- submitted the report to Kharge on Monday.

6. Both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar were called to New Delhi on Monday. Siddaramaiah reached accordingly, but DK Shivakumar cancelled his Delhi visit on Monday -- which was interpreted as a clear indication that he was taking a backseat and Siddaramaiah was going to be the chief minister.

7. The calculations changed when on Tuesday morning DK Shivakumar arrived in Delhi.

8. The decision is now expected any time soon as Mallikarjun Kharge is holding discussion with Rahul Gandhi.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah said he has the support of more MLAs for the CM post while DK Shivakumar said he does not have any number as all 135 Congress MLAs who won were led by him.

As the BJP is making the delay an issue, Uddhav Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi cited examples of how the BJP took nine days to decide Assam CM. "Cute to see the media’s urgency to declare CM Karnataka. Their silence when BJP took 9 days to decide Assam CM, silence on the delay by illegitimate Maharashtra government in declaring its cabinet, same in Puducherry, makes one see their current outrage for Karnataka as nothing but desperate, agenda driven and pathetic," Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted.