Siddaramaiah to be Karnataka CM

NEW DELHI:

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar on Wednesday as the party closed in on naming the next Karnataka Chief Minister after the election win over the weekend. The party is close to naming Siddaramaiah, 75, for the role of Chief Minister as he has the support of most MLAs, according to reports.

Siddaramaiah’s supporters were seen bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets after his meeting with Rahul Gandhi, but the suspense over the Karnataka Chief Minister’s post after the Congress’s emphatic victory in the assembly elections endured for the fourth day. Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said a decision could take another “48-72 hours”.

According to sources, the Congress is closing in on naming Siddaramaiah, 75, for the role because he has the support of most MLAs and the task now is to bring Mr Shivakumar, 61, on board.

In his meeting with Mr. Gandhi, Mr. Shivakumar indicated that he would not back down in the standoff with Siddaramaiah, sources said.

Siddaramaiah has been in Delhi since Monday, where he met with senior Congress leaders amid speculation that he is the frontrunner in the race for the top post.