Congress veteran Siddaramaiah and KPCC President DK Shivakumar, who have been engaged in a tough negotiation for the chief minister's post in Karnataka, have rejected the power-sharing plan, India Today reported on Tuesday. Earlier, it was reported that the top leadership may go for a rotational chief ministership to pacify both contenders. However, they have now rejected that plan, sources told India Today.
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The report also said that the MLAs with DK Shivakumar were also neutral because Siddaramaiah campaigned for them as well. Siddaramaiah was the chief minister between 2013 and 2018.
The decision for the chief ministerial post is likely to be delayed for a few more days, the report said, adding that Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge would be meeting more leaders from Karnataka before arriving at a decision.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi will go by Kharge's decision on choosing the new chief minister of Karnataka, sources told IT.
Earlier in the day, India Today reported that Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal are backing Siddaramaiah while Kharge is not taking sides and will be holding consultations before making a decision.
According to sources, the high command does not want to upset any of the leaders as both have played key roles in bringing the Congres into power. The Congress has won a historic mandate under the presidency of DK Shivakumar but Siddaramaiah too has a strong following across the state.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar today met Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi.
News agency ANI reported that Kharge will announce the name of the next chief minister on Thursday in Bengaluru. He will take the final decision after consulting Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the report said. Kharge today held a meeting with Rahul Gandhi to discuss the government formation in Karnataka.