BENGALURU: Citing his “commitment” to the Congress high command, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday announced his decision to step down, honouring his promise to resign after two-and-a-half years in office and make way for Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to assume the post. Siddaramaiah had, in fact, completed three years in office on May 20.
The resignation announcement was made during a breakfast meeting hosted by Siddaramaiah at his official residence, “Kaveri,” in Bengaluru. Several ministers attended the meeting, including Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, M.B. Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Dr G. Parameshwar, Madhu Bangarappa, Ramalinga Reddy and Cheluvarayaswamy, among others.
A formal announcement on Siddaramaiah’s successor is expected to be made at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting. However, party sources indicated that D.K. Shivakumar is set to replace Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister.
Siddaramaiah’s decision came after his meeting with senior Congress leaders in New Delhi on Tuesday, during which Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reportedly directed him to step down in line with his “commitment” to relinquish the post after serving for two-and-a-half years and hand over power to Shivakumar.
The “commitment” referred to an unwritten agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar reached in May 2023, when the Congress returned to power in Karnataka. After Siddaramaiah completed two-and-a-half years in office last November, Shivakumar pressed for a leadership change, citing the alleged agreement. Siddaramaiah, however, repeatedly denied the existence of any such pact regarding the transfer of power. Eventually, the Congress high command intervened to resolve the issue.
Welcoming Siddaramaiah’s decision, Shivakumar hugged him during the breakfast meeting and sought his blessings by touching his feet ahead of his expected elevation as Chief Minister.
Following reports of Siddaramaiah’s resignation, party leaders, ministers and MLAs flocked to the Chief Minister’s official residence on Wednesday, urging him not to step down. However, Siddaramaiah remained firm in his decision before formally announcing it on Thursday.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
