Editor's Pick: The Chief Minister dilemma in Karnataka | Congress holds CLP meeting

The Congress party, which won a 135-seat mandate in the Karnataka Assembly polls, the highest tally for any party since the 1989 State election, now faces the uphill task of choosing the Chief Minister to lead the new government as intense competition and lobbying takes place between former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar for the post. The Karnataka Congress Legislature Party (CLP), in its meeting held on Sunday, unanimously passed a one-line resolution authorising the president of the All India Congress Committee, Mallikarjun Kharge, to choose the new Chief Minister. While the two Congress heavyweights for the post had put up a united front during campaigning, saying that both of them were aspirants but the new MLAs and the party high command would take the final call, the CLP meeting was preceded by intense lobbying from both sides. With the one-line resolution, the action is likely to shift to New Delhi from Monday. Party Sources said that several formulae, including rotating the position between the two leaders, and also creating multiple deputy chief ministerial berths to accommodate various communities, were being looked at. Notably, the lobbying for the Chief Ministerial berth acquired clear caste hues as minutes before the CLP meeting, two prominent Vokkaliga seers openly batted for Mr. Shivakumar to be elected as the next Chief Minister of the State. Those in favour of Mr. Shivakumar have argued that the vote share of the Congress going up in the Vokkaliga bastion had to be credited to the leader. However, the counter-argument is that Congress has gotten wide support from various communities. Case in point is the spike in the vote share in Bombay Karnataka and Central Karnataka by 5.9 percentage points, indicating Lingayat support. A majority of SC/ST seats have also been won by the Congress, besides the significant consolidation of Muslim and OBC votes. While the Congress largely stuck to issues impacting lives and livelihoods during campaigning, as this editorial in The Hindu points out, the party has finally acknowledged that it must address questions of caste justice too, while holding on to its opposition to religious sectarianism, and expanding welfarism. In such a situation, it has become incumbent upon the party high command to not only choose the next Chief Minister in a timely manner but also ensure that all communities that supported the party are placated in the power-sharing process, all this while keeping in mind that both leaders are influential. The party has already faced rebellion in States such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor’s Pick and more. Click here. 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[Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( The Chief Minister dilemma in Karnataka | Congress holds CLP meeting The Congress party, which won a 135-seat mandate in the Karnataka Assembly polls, the highest tally for any party since the 1989 State election, now faces the uphill task of choosing the Chief Minister to lead the new government as [intense competition and lobbying]( takes place between former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar for the post. The Karnataka Congress Legislature Party (CLP), in its meeting held on Sunday,[unanimously passed a one-line resolution]( authorising the president of the All India Congress Committee, Mallikarjun Kharge, to choose the new Chief Minister. While the two Congress heavyweights for the post had put up a united front during campaigning, saying that both of them were aspirants but the new MLAs and the party high command would take the final call, the CLP meeting was preceded by intense lobbying from both sides. With the one-line resolution, the action is likely to shift to New Delhi from Monday. Party Sources said that several formulae, including rotating the position between the two leaders, and also creating multiple deputy chief ministerial berths to accommodate various communities, were being looked at. Notably, the lobbying for the Chief Ministerial berth acquired clear caste hues as minutes before the CLP meeting, two prominent Vokkaliga seers openly batted for Mr. Shivakumar to be elected as the next Chief Minister of the State. Those in favour of Mr. Shivakumar have argued that the vote share of the Congress going up in the Vokkaliga bastion had to be credited to the leader. However, the counter-argument is that Congress has gotten wide support from various communities. Case in point is the spike in the vote share in Bombay Karnataka and Central Karnataka by 5.9 percentage points, indicating Lingayat support. A majority of SC/ST seats have also been won by the Congress, besides the significant consolidation of Muslim and OBC votes. While the Congress largely stuck to issues impacting lives and livelihoods during campaigning, as [this editorial]( in The Hindu points out, the party has finally acknowledged that it must address questions of caste justice too, while holding on to its opposition to religious sectarianism, and expanding welfarism. In such a situation, it has become incumbent upon the party high command to not only choose the next Chief Minister in a timely manner but also ensure that all communities that supported the party are placated in the power-sharing process, all this while keeping in mind that both leaders are influential. The party has already faced rebellion in States such as Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor’s Pick and more. [Click here](. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Lessons in a loss: On the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election result]( [Arrow][Statistical succour: On the Consumer Price Index]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz What is the name of India’s manned space flight programme which envisages putting a crew of three astronauts in low-earth orbit? - Parikraman - Gaganyaan - Bhasakara-1 - Unchaai Prayog To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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