Karnataka CM pick: Ahead of official announcement, Siddaramaiah's supporters break into celebration

Ahead of a formal announcement that Congress veteran Siddaramaiah will be Karnataka’s next Chief Minister, his supporters broke into celebrations here and at his native village in Mysuru district on Thursday morning. Siddaramaiah will be the next CM of Karnataka and DK Shivakumar his deputy, Congress sources in Delhi said today after the party arrived at a consensus on government formation in the state following hectic parleys.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held in Bengaluru on May 20.

Siddaramaiah’s supporters shouted slogans in his favour as the news came out that he would take oath as the CM on May 20. The residents of Siddaramanahundi, the native village of Siddaramaiah were, in fact, jubilant since Wednesday following reports that their leader would become the chief minister again. The villagers set off crackers, raised slogans hailing Siddaramaiah and distributed sweets. His brother Sidde Gowda was confident that Siddaramaiah will be chosen for the top post.

”There’s a guarantee that Siddaramaiah will become Chief Minister. He has done good for the people. He introduced ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme giving free rice to the poor people,” Sidde Gowda told reporters in Siddaramanahundi on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, arrangements were afoot at the Kanteerava stadium in the city where the swearing-in ceremony will take place. Security has been stepped up near the residence of the Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly here and in and around the stadium where the ceremony will take place. According to party sources, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge along with other stakeholders held parleys past midnight to hammer out a solution between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar — the two chief ministerial aspirants.

A Congress Legislature Party meeting has been called by Shivakumar, the party’s state unit chief, here this evening. The decision will be announced there. The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief has written to all legislators, asking them to attend the meeting of newly-elected MLAs, MLCs and MPs at the Indira Gandhi Bhavan on Queen’s Road at 7 pm.