Siddaramaiah Announces Resignation; DK Shivakumar Set to Take Over

The resignation announcement was made during a breakfast meeting held by Siddaramaiah at his official residence “Kaveri” in Bengaluru. The meeting was attended by several ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, MB Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Dr G. Parameshwar, Madhu Bangarappa, Ramalinga Reddy and Cheluvarayaswamy.

An official announcement about Siddaramaiah’s successor is expected to be made at the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting. However, party sources stated that DK Shivakumar will be appointed as the Chief Minister in place of Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiah’s decision came after a meeting with senior Congress leaders in New Delhi on Tuesday; In this meeting, Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi reportedly instructed him to resign after two-and-a-half years in office, in line with his “commitment” to give up office and hand over power to Shivakumar.

The “commitment” referred to an unwritten agreement reached between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar in May 2023, when the Congress came back to power in Karnataka. After Siddaramaiah completed two-and-a-half years in office last November, Shivakumar pushed for a change in leadership, citing the alleged deal. However, Siddaramaiah has repeatedly denied the existence of such an agreement 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 touched his feet, asking for his blessings ahead of his expected ascension as the Prime Minister.

Following reports about Siddaramaiah’s resignation, party leaders, ministers and MLAs flocked to the Chief Minister’s official residence on Wednesday, urging him not to resign. However, Siddaramaiah stood firm on his decision before making it official on Thursday.