It’s official: Siddaramaiah to be next Karnataka Chief Minister

Mangaloretoday/DHNS

Bangalore, May 10, 2013: Senior Congress leader A K Anthony announced the name of Siddaramaiah as the next Karnataka Chief Minister on Friday.

At a meeting convened by the party to elicit the view of the new legislators on Chief Minister’s post, Siddaramaiah moved a resolution requesting that the CLP leadership be left to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

 

It was seconded by H K Patil, Roshan Baig, Shyamanur Shivashankarappa and D K Shivakumar.

The central leadership, however, asked the legislators to express their choice, in a secret balloting. The 121 Congress MLAs elected by the people of the state voted via secret ballot to elect him this evening. Mr Siddaramaiah won the backing of a majority 75 MLAs. At the end of the exercise Anthony made the announcement.

Union Labour and Employment Minister M Mallikarjuna Kharge was said to be in a straight fight with Siddaramaiah for the coveted post.

 

Governor H Bhardwaj has invited Mr Siddaramaiah to form the government. The CM-elect is expected visit the Governor later today and inform him about when he would take oath and submit a list of ministers.

Addressing the press after his election, Mr Siddaramaiah said that the immediate challenge is to put the state’s administration the right track.

Mr Siddaramaiah is a backward caste leader from the Kuruba community with a big support base, especially in the Old Mysore region in the south.

He has been Opposition leader and was among those who scripted the Congress’ successful campaign. He is a five-time MLA and represents the Varuna constituency in Mysore district. Once part of the Janata Dal (Secular) and an HD Deve Gowda protege, Mr Siddaramaiah has been a Congressman for only about six years.

Earlier, the four-member team of AICC observers, comprising Defence minister A K Antony, Congress General Secretary in-charge of the state Madhusudan Mistri, Luizinho Faleiro, who was Karnataka’s candidates screening committee chairman, and Union Minister Jitendra Singh, congratulated the newly elected Congress MLAs.

The Congress earlier this week swept to power with a comfortable majority of 121 MLAs in the 224-member House, dethroning the BJP which fared miserably winning only 40 seats, down by 70 compared to the 2008 poll.