Karnataka deadlock ends as Congress picks Siddaramaiah as chief minister, DK Shivakumar to be deputy

The Indian National Congress on Thursday (18) announced Siddaramaiah as its pick as the next chief minister of the southern state of Karnataka, ending five days of suspense over who between the former and DK Shivakumar would lead the new government.

Shivakumar, who was also a strong contender for the post, will be the deputy chief minister.

The Congress or India's grand-old party defeated prime minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state in the recently held elections to return to power.

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The decision was taken after the party engaged in a long internal wrangling since the results came out on May 13, NDTV reported.

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Party spokesperson and parliamentarian Randeep Singh Surjewala, who is also in charge of the southern state, evaded a query on whether the five-year term of the new government would be split between the two heavyweight leaders. He said power-sharing means sharing power with the people of Karnataka.

Shivakumar, the chief of the state unit who showed signs of sticking to his ambition but said he was not going to be a rebel, tweeted, "Karnataka's secure future and our people's welfare is our top priority, and we are united in guaranteeing that."

Siddaramaiah, who served as the chief minister between 2013 and 2018, said their hands (electoral symbol of the Congress) will always be united to protect the interests of Kannadigas (people of Karnataka) and added that the Congress will work as a family.

NDTV cited sources close to Shivakumar saying that he accepted to be the No.2 in the new government following an intervention by former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. They said the veteran leader had agreed to make the "sacrifice in the interest of the party".

However, not all were happy in the Congress camp still. Shivakumar's brother DK Suresh, a parliamentarian from the state, told the channel that they were not happy with the outcome.

According to the report, there was still no clarity over the final decision on a rotational chief ministership between the two leaders. Such an arrangement, it is believed, now depends on the party's performance in next year's general elections.