Congress To Hold Meeting Today To Decide The Next Chief Minister In Karnataka

Following their overwhelming victory in the Karnataka assembly elections yesterday, the Congress has scheduled a meeting of its MLAs this evening to discuss the challenging matter of who gets the top post. The Congress Legislative Party is anticipated to pass a resolution at the meeting, which the Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar said is slated for 6 pm at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bengaluru, leaving it up to the Congress national president to choose the next chief minister.

According to sources, no final decision will be made today, but the opinions of all MLAs will be collected. As observers at the Karnataka CLP meeting, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Deepak Babaria, and Jitendra Singh Alwar are general secretaries representing the Congress.

Both DK Shivakumar and former Chief Minister and leader of the opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah have publicly expressed their desire to hold the top position, creating concerns that if the issue is not resolved, there may be an ugly standoff inside the party. DK Shivakumar travelled 120 kilometres from the state capital to a temple with his family and brother, Congress MP DK Suresh from Bangalore Rural.

Furthermore, a poster identifying Siddaramaiah's supporters as "the next CM of Karnataka" has been placed in front of his Bengaluru home. While the words "Birthday greetings to the new Chief Minister of Karnataka" were inscribed on posters that were placed outside DK Shivakumar's Bengaluru home on Sunday, wishing him a birthday in advance that is on May 15.

Mallikarjun Kharge, the national president of the Congress party, is returning to Delhi this afternoon to meet with Sonia Gandhi after holding a joint press conference with the two top state party leaders last evening and dedicating the victory to the people of the state. He won't attend today's important meeting in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, with a vote percentage of 42.88 percent, the party has gained 135 seats, 55 more than in 2018. The 1999 election, when it gained 132 seats and earned a vote share of 40.84 percent, was the closest the Congress has ever come to this result.