It is official...Siddaramaiah to be Karnataka CM, DK Shivakumar his deputy

Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal made the formal announcement on Thursday in a media briefing after four days of intense deliberations on the CM question.

New Delhi:The Congress on Thursday made it official that Siddaramaiah is going to be the party's choice for the Chief Minister's position in Karnataka. His rival, DK Shivakumar, who has been eyeing the top job in the state will be serving as Siddaramaiah's Deputy. D K Shivakumar will continue to be the party's Karnataka state president till the 2024 Parliamentary elections.

Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal made the formal announcement on Thursday in a media briefing after four days of intense deliberations on the CM question. He added that a meeting will be held by the newly elected MLAs of Karnataka in the state capital Thursday evening where the state leadership will formally elect the new Karnataka Chief Minister.

Taking a swipe at the BJP, Venugopal said that the Congress is a democratic party and believes in consensus, not dictatorship. Earlier on Wednesday former BJP Chief Minister Bommai hit out at the Congress leadership for failing to appoint the next Chief Minister of the state despite winning with a thumping majority.

Venugopal also congratulated all Congress leaders, including the top leadership who worked hard to cement its win in Karnataka. The swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and the newly elected Ministers will be held on Saturday, Venugopal announced adding that like-minded Opposition party leaders will be invited for the ceremony.

Following Thursday's meeting with both the contending leaders, Kharge wrote on Twitter, "Team Congress is committed to ushering progress, welfare and social justice for the people of Karnataka. We will implement the 5 guarantees promised to 6.5 Cr Kannadigas." After brainstorming for the last four days and holding back-to-back deliberations, the Congress chief finally came to a solution between the two chief ministerial aspirants and decided in favour of Siddaramaiah for the top job.