New Delhi: The Congress has formally announced the name of Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. DK Shivakumar will be the Deputy Chief Minister. Congress organization general secretary KC Venugopal told a press conference on Thursday afternoon about the decision of the party leadership. The party’s national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that there will be only one deputy CM in the Siddaramaiah government, while DK Shivakumar will continue to be the Karnataka Congress president as the deputy chief minister. He will remain in this post till the end of next year’s Lok Sabha elections. The swearing-in of the new Karnataka government will take place on May 20 at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
KC Venugopal thanked the people of Karnataka for giving a massive majority to the Congress. He said, ‘Everyone has worked very hard to win the state assembly elections. Congress does not believe in a dictatorship. Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi all have worked very hard to win this election. There will be a meeting of the Legislature Party in Bangalore this evening. Apart from all the newly elected Congress MLAs, the Legislative Council members and MPs will attend this meeting. He said that we will invite all the leaders of like-minded parties in Karnataka to participate in the swearing-in ceremony.
Tweet of Siddha-DKS – Will work unitedly for the people of Karnataka
DK Shivakumar tweeted a photo with Siddaramaiah from his official handle, writing, “The secure future of Karnataka and the welfare of our people is our top priority, and we stand united to guarantee it.” Sharing his photo with President Mallikarjun Kharge on Twitter, he wrote, ‘Our hands will always be united to protect the welfare of Kannadigas. The Congress party will work as a family to provide a people-oriented, transparent, corruption-free governance in the state and fulfill all our guarantees.
DKS’s brother DK Suresh said – I am not happy, we will wait and see
Earlier, DK Shivakumar’s brother and Congress MP DK Suresh expressed dissatisfaction while reacting to the decision of the high command. Talking to the news agency ANI, he said, ‘I am not completely happy, but in the interest of Karnataka, we wanted to fulfill our commitment. That’s why DK Shivakumar had to accept the post of Deputy CM. We will see in the future, there is a long way to go. I want (a CM post for DK Shivakumar) but it did not happen, we will wait and see.
Accepting the decision of the high command in the larger interest of the party, said DK Shivkumar
Here, DK Shivakumar said in a conversation with India Today, ‘in the larger interest of the party… why not. The high command has decided. The Congress party has our commitment before the people of Karnataka. There are parliamentary elections ahead. So, I had to bow down before the AICC President and the Gandhi family. In the larger interest of the party (I agree to the formula) and why not, because sometimes the ice must melt. Ultimately, we have a responsibility towards the commitment we have to the people of Karnataka and we have to fulfill it.