Who Will Be Next Karnataka CM? Siddaramaiah Likely To Resign Tomorrow

Siddaramaiah Resignation: The political crisis in Karnataka, it seems, has hit the roof. As Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was seen to be preparing for a leadership change in the Congress government in Karnataka on Thursday, he is likely to announce his resignation at the press conference in Bengaluru, as per multiple sources. In yet another important development, Siddaramaiah is also likely to hold a breakfast meeting with the entire Karnataka Cabinet at his residence on Thursday morning, adding to the political speculation of an imminent change of guard in the state.

Who will be the next Karnataka CM? 

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s leadership challenge is based on a deal agreed after the Congress’s 2023 election win. It was a difficult choice for the party at the time to choose a leading candidate between the two. Shivakumar’s supporters have been claiming that an understanding was reached for rotational Chief Ministership when the government was formed in 2023. If Siddaramaiah is to be replaced by another, then the name of DK Shivakumar is floated.

A 2.5-year promise came into place, which was about a supposed power-sharing arrangement within the Karnataka Congress Party, wherein a deal was struck between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. 

The Leadership Tussle

The competition became a show in its own right and both the politicians with their large parties of ministers went to New Delhi and presented their cases before the Congress High Command.

They have developed two factions with ministers backing Siddaramaiah (who enjoys immense backing from legislators and backwards-class groups) and Shivakumar (who is a rich member of the Vokkaliga community and supplied financial support to the party operations in the state).

Was Siddaramaiah asked to step down? 

The Congress High Command on Tuesday decisively stepped in to end the festering leadership issues in Karnataka, asking Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to pave the way for a transition of power in the state. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi met Siddaramaiah for more than 40 minutes at the party headquarters in Delhi, which was no doubt a closed-door meeting. In this meeting, he reportedly made it a point to convince the senior leader of the need to accept a generational change in the Karnataka Congress.

ALSO READ: Ebola virus scare in Bengaluru: Uganda woman found symptomatic, hospitalised