Make me Karnataka CM or will continue as MLA, DK Shivakumar tells Kharge: Sources

Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar, who is in the race to become the next state chief minister, met party president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi on Tuesday.

According to sources, Shivakumar expressed his desire to become the next CM to Kharge, saying that he helped the party rebuild in the state after their government collapsed in 2019.

Both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah landed in New Delhi to meet the Congress leadership to discuss government formation in Karnataka after the party’s resounding victory in the May 10 Assembly election.

In his meeting with Kharge, Shivakumar told the Congress chief that Siddaramaiah had already been given a chance to become the CM and now it was his turn, sources told India Today. He also said that if he is denied the CM chair, he would prefer working only as an MLA in the party.

Shivakumar also told Kharge that Siddaramaiah’s tenure as CM was a “misrule” and that the Lingayats, a prominent community in Karnataka, were against the former chief minister.

Party sources had said that the Congress chief will decide on the next CM of Karnataka after discussing the result of the secret ballot voting with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi is currently in Shimla.

On Monday, all three observers for Karnataka submitted their report to Kharge and the meeting of the party leaders lasted for over five hours.

The Congress won 135 seats in Karnataka whereas the ruling BJP managed to win only 66 seats. The JD(S), which was hoping to play the role of kingmaker, was reduced to 19 seats in the state.