The Central Congress leadership will take various factors, including the views of newly-elected legislators in Karnataka, into account before choosing the new leader of the Congress legislature party in the state, it is learnt.
After detailed discussions with newly-appointed Congress legislators in Karnataka on choosing the new leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), the three AICC general secretaries have returned to the National Capital and are expected to submit their report to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge tonight.
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The race for leadership is between former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and state BJP chief D K Shivakumar.
Kharge had deputed former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Shinde, Jitendra Singh (Congress General Secretary) and Deepak Babaria (former Congress General Secretary) as the observers for the election of the CLP Leader of Karnataka.
According to Jitendra Singh, the observers met all the Congress legislators yesterday to ascertain their views on the new CLP leader. He said the ”Bharat Jodo Yatra” of Rahul Gandhi had also contributed to the party’s handsome victory in the state. He said the Congress governments have also fulfilled promises made to the people. ”We will give our report to the Congress President,” he added.
On Sunday evening, the Congress Legislature Party unanimously authorised the Congress President to appoint the new Leader of the CLP.
Siddaramaiah has also rushed to Delhi to meet Kharge while Shivakumar was celebrating his birthday with his supporters at his residence in Bengaluru.
The Central party leadership is unable to ignore the equally strong claims of both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, given the fact that they played a pivotal role in ensuring the party’s impressive victory in the state.
Siddaramaiah is a popular Lingayat leader and Shivakumar is a Vokaligga leader and both are popular among the masses. Shivakumar is also credited with reviving the party in the state as its chief.
