Siddaramaiah Reaches Delhi, Battle For Chief Minister's Seat Intensifies In Karnataka Congress

After a decisive victory in the Karnataka assembly elections, the Congress is now faced with a challenging test as two prominent party members, DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah, compete for the chief minister position.

Siddaramaiah has already arrived in Delhi, while Shivakumar plans to attend his birthday celebrations in Bengaluru before heading to Delhi later in the evening.

A Congress-appointed observer team held discussions with newly-elected Karnataka MLAs on Sunday to determine who should occupy the top spot. The observers are currently in Delhi to meet with the party's national leadership, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress party announced that Kharge would take the decision after the meeting of Karnataka MLAs. Congress General Secretaries Sushil Kumar Shinde, Deepak Babaria, and Jitendra Singh Alwar were present as observers during the meeting.

Supporters of Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah rallied outside the Bengaluru hotel, chanting slogans during their meeting.

Today, Shivakumar stated that he completed his task and the decision on who will become the chief minister is for the 'party high command' to make.

"We have passed a one-line resolution. We will leave it to the party high command. I have done whatever job I have to do," DK Shivakumar said, reports NDTV.

As per the report, sources have indicated that the Karnataka CM and cabinet will be sworn in on Thursday.

Both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah, who aspire to be the Chief Minister, have engaged in political one-upmanship before.

DK Shivakumar is considered to be a Congress "troubleshooter", while Siddaramaiah has broad appeal across Karnataka.

The Congress, after winning 135 of the 224 seats in the Karnataka assembly, presented a united front, with Kharge and both CM hopefuls addressing the media and party workers jointly.

In 1999, the Congress party had come close with 132 seats and 40.84 per cent vote share, while in 1989, it had won 178 seats and had a vote share of 43.76 per cent.

The BJP won only 66 seats in Karnataka this election, down from 104 in the 2018 state election.