The political impasse in Karnataka has finally come to an end as the Congress high command has announced its decision on the chief ministerial post. Veteran leader Siddaramaiah will be sworn in as the new chief minister of the state on May 20, while his rival-turned-ally DK Shivakumar will be his deputy.

The Congress, which won a landslide victory in the state assembly elections held on May 10, had been struggling to choose its leader for the top post amid a fierce tussle between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. Both leaders had staked their claim for the coveted post and had met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former chief Rahul Gandhi several times to present their case.

After four days of hectic parleys, Kharge managed to broker a deal between the two leaders and convinced them to accept a power-sharing formula. According to sources, Shivakumar had initially demanded the chief minister’s post for the first half of the five-year tenure, but later agreed to settle for the deputy’s role. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar met Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot on Wednesday evening and staked claim to form the government.

They also announced that the oath-taking ceremony will be held at 12.30 pm on Thursday at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat. Siddaramaiah, who had served as the chief minister of Karnataka from 2013 to 2018, will return to power for a second term. He is seen as a popular leader among the backward classes and minorities and has a loyal base of supporters in the party. Shivakumar, who is the state Congress president, is a powerful Vokkaliga leader and a resourceful politician. He is credited with keeping the party flock together during the crisis that led to the fall of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in 2019.

The Congress has asserted that Karnataka will have a stable and progressive government under the leadership of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. The party has also urged people not to believe in speculation and ‘fake news’ which it alleged was being spread by the BJP. The BJP, which was ousted from power after losing 58 seats in the elections, has accused the Congress of indulging in horse-trading and corruption to form the government. The party has also claimed that there is no unity among the Congress leaders and that the government will collapse soon.

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