Congress to pick Karnataka CM today

State Congress president DK Shivakumar cancels Delhi visit citing ill health

New Delhi/Bengaluru: The suspense over the new Karnataka Chief Minister intensified on Monday as State Congress president DK Shivakumar cancelled his visit to the national capital citing health issues after he and Siddaramaiah, both frontrunners for the top post, were called by the central leadership for discussions.

The three central observers, who interacted with party MLAs on their choice for the CM’s post after the Congress Legislature Party meeting on Sunday, briefed party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and submitted their report. After the meeting, Randeep Surjewala, AICC in-charge for Karnataka, told reporters that the party will announce its decision by Tuesday evening.

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“The observers have submitted the report to the Congress president. We will hold consultations with all senior State leaders, including Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, and after that, a decision will be taken by the Congress president,” he said.

Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were called by the party high command for further discussion on government formation. Siddaramaiah arrived on Monday afternoon in the national capital but Shivakumar cancelled his visit, hours after confirming he would be flying to Delhi, fuelling speculation that the factional fighting in the Karnataka Congress had reared its head again.

Shivakumar cited health reasons for the change in his travel plans but sources said he is likely to come to Delhi on Tuesday. “I have some problem in the stomach. Doctor is coming in 10 minutes. It’s burning. It looks like some infection and I have a fever….. please let me be free…,” he told reporters. Sources close to him also confirmed he was not going to Delhi on Monday.

Amid various claims about the number of MLAs supporting him and Siddaramaiah for the CM’s post, Shivakumar said earlier on Monday that his strength is 135, as under his presidency in the State the party had won the seats. The move by Shivakumar, seen by many as a “pressure tactic” to assert his claim on the top post, indicated that the leadership war in the southern State was far from over.

The three observers — Sushilkumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria — returned to the national capital on Monday morning. They, along with AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka and general secretary organisation KC Venugopal, met Kharge and held discussions on the views expressed by the MLAs, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the party is also gearing up for preparations for making the swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Minister a big show of strength, to which several opposition leaders will be invited.