- Saturday, March 01, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
The new chief minister of the southern Indian state of Karnataka will take oath on Thursday (18), NDTV reported citing sources although it was not decided who would be the new leader.
The Gandhis, who have been the powerhouse of the Indian National Congress, which returned to power in Karnataka with a thumping victory ousting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by prime minister Narendra Modi, and party president Mallikarjun Kharge will be present at the event in state capital Bengaluru. The grand-old party has sent invitations to all “like-minded” parties to attend the oath-taking of the new chief minister.
The new cabinet in the state will also take shape in a day or two, a few informed sources told the channel.
Speculation is rife over who among state Congress chief DK Shivakumar and former chief minister Siddaramaiah would be the next chief minister and it would be interesting to see how the party addresses the key question of choosing one heavyweight leader over the other.
The party called a meeting of its legislators at a posh hotel in Bengaluru on Sunday (13) to discuss the matter and the Congress Legislature Party is expected to pass a resolution leaving it to the party’s national president to take the final call. According to the sources, no final decision would be taken on Sunday and only the views of the legislators will be ascertained.
The Congress won 135 seats in the 224-member assembly with 42.88 per cent vote share to attain majority while the ruling BJP’s past tally of 104 was reduced to 66. The other big player in the state’s politics — Janata Dal (Secular) — won 19 seats.
It was the grand-old party’s best show in the state’s election since 1989 when it got 178 seats.
Both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah have expressed interest for the top job, raising concerns over a potential stand-off if the matter is not resolved amicably. Supporters of both leaders have already started referring to them as the next chief minister.
Posters also came up outside the residence of Shivakumar wishing birthday greetings to “the new chief minister of Karnataka”. The leader turns 61 on Monday (15).
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai tendered his resignation on Saturday (13), hours after the Congress emerged victorious in the polls and acknowledged the defeat saying the BJP failed to make a mark despite the prime minister making efforts.
