Sure of a thumping victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections, the Congress is already making moves to resolve its next big challenge -- deciding who would be the Chief Minister. The party has called a meeting of its MLAs this evening, where they are expected to pass a resolution leaving it to the Congress president to decide the person for the top job. Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar and former Chief Minister and leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah have both been eying the job, raising fears of an unpleasant stand-off within the party.
DK Shivakumar earlier today reacted strongly to a comment by Mr Siddaramaiah's son that he should occupy the post again. "The High Command will decide," said Mr Shivakumar.
"We will brief the candidates about how to react. The high command will take decisions," Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has said.
DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah will address a joint press conference, along with Mr Kharge, this evening.
While the official results from the Election Commission are yet to be out, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai conceded defeat shortly after the Congress leads moved past 130 seats. The BJP is ahead on 60-plus seats and HD Kumaraswamy's JD(S) in 20 seats.
Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, 75, said the Congress's win in the state election was a mandate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, and he hoped it would galvanise opposition parties ahead of next year's national polls. He also said that the Congress party may cross 130 seats in the 224-member assembly, which would give it a comfortable majority.
DK Shivakumar broke down today while speaking to the media, saying he had "promised to Sonia Gandhi I will deliver Karnataka".
"I assured Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge that I will deliver Karnataka. I can't forget Sonia Gandhi coming to meet me in jail," Mr Shivakumar, 61, told reporters.
"The Congress office is our temple. We will decide our next step at the Congress office," he further said.
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