Bengaluru | Hours after resigning as Karnataka chief minister, Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, widely seen as his likely successor, left separately for New Delhi on Thursday.
In the national capital, the two leaders are expected to meet the Congress high command to discuss the modalities of forming the new ministry in the state.
According to party sources, discussions related to the selection of the new Congress Legislature Party leader, the composition of the ministry and other organisational matters, including the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president’s post currently held by Shivakumar, are likely to take place during the Delhi visit.
They said clarity on these issues may emerge within a day or two.
The Congress Legislature Party elects its leader, who is then chosen as the chief minister.
Siddaramaiah submitted his resignation to the Governor’s Special Secretary at Lok Bhavan here on Thursday afternoon.
Special Secretary Prabhu Shankar received the resignation in the absence of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.
Earlier in the day, during a breakfast meeting hosted at his residence for cabinet colleagues, Siddaramaiah informed ministers of his decision to step down and indicated that Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar would succeed him, in line with the directions of the Congress high command, according to several ministers who attended the meeting.
However, when asked about the next chief minister during a press conference later, Siddaramaiah said, “Whoever the legislature party and the high command decide will be the chief minister of the state.”
Asked about Shivakumar becoming chief minister, his brother and former Congress MP D K Suresh said, “Let us wait for the party’s decision.”
The developments leading to the resignation follow the Congress high command asking Siddaramaiah to make way for a leadership change in the state and offering him a role at the national level in the party, along with a Rajya Sabha seat. However, Siddaramaiah has not accepted the offer so far.
Some party sources indicated that Siddaramaiah decided to step down after the message was conveyed directly by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were summoned to Delhi on Tuesday, where back-to-back meetings were held at the Congress headquarters involving Rahul Gandhi, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, and party general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.
