Editor's Pick: Congress ends uncertainty, picks Siddaramaiah as Karnataka Chief Minister

Ending days of speculation since the party won a majority in the 2023 Karnataka State Assembly election results announced on Saturday, Congress has picked Siddaramaiah to be the next Chief Minister. Another contender for the post, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar, will be the deputy Chief Minister. Mr. Shivakumar holding two posts is against the declared policy of the Congress, but possibly the right decision to maintain harmony within the party. He will continue as the KPCC President until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Both Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar spent the last few days meeting top party leaders in New Delhi, including Rahul Gandhi, party President Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary K.C. Venugopal, and others. The announcement was made on Thursday after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) of the MLAs-elect in Bengaluru, attended by the party’s central observers. Mr. Siddaramaiah was unanimously elected as the CLP leader. The Chief Minister, the deputy Chief Minister, and a group of Ministers will be sworn in on Saturday at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. Congress won 135 seats in the Assembly election, the highest number of seats after 1989. Mr. Shivakumar is seen as a significant figure in the party’s victory. He also won with the highest margin of votes (over one lakh votes) in the Kanakapura Legislative Assembly constituency, located on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Mr. Shivakumar is believed to have won with the massive support of the Vokkaliga community, to which he belongs. Meanwhile, Mr. Siddaramaiah had his eyes set on the top post after serving as the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly for five years. He has been elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for eight terms in the past, and is seen as a champion of caste justice in Karnataka. He has also been associated with the AHINDA, a movement for the cause of backward classes, minorities and Dalits. 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 Two to tango: On the Congress settling the leadership issue in Karnataka Warming warning: On the World Meteorological Organization projections for temperature trends The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz In which city was a 125-feet tall statue of B.R Ambedkar, the largest in the country, recently unveiled? Indore Pune Hyderabad Nagpur To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 19 May 2023 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Congress ends uncertainty, picks Siddaramaiah as Karnataka Chief Minister Ending days of speculation since the party won a majority in the 2023 Karnataka State Assembly election results announced on Saturday, [Congress has picked Siddaramaiah]( to be the next Chief Minister. Another contender for the post, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president [D.K. Shivakumar, will be the deputy Chief Minister](. Mr. Shivakumar holding two posts is against the declared policy of the Congress, but possibly the right decision to maintain harmony within the party. He will continue as the KPCC President until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Both Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar spent the last few days meeting top party leaders in New Delhi, including Rahul Gandhi, party President Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary K.C. Venugopal, and others. The announcement was made on Thursday after a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) of the MLAs-elect in Bengaluru, attended by the party’s central observers. Mr. Siddaramaiah was unanimously elected as the CLP leader. The Chief Minister, the deputy Chief Minister, and a group of Ministers will be sworn in on Saturday at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. [Congress won 135 seats in the Assembly election]( the highest number of seats after 1989. Mr. Shivakumar is seen as a significant figure in the party’s victory. He also won with the highest margin of votes (over one lakh votes) in the Kanakapura Legislative Assembly constituency, located on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Mr. Shivakumar is believed to have won with the massive support of the Vokkaliga community, to which he belongs. Meanwhile, Mr. Siddaramaiah had his eyes set on the top post after serving as the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly for five years. He has been elected to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for eight terms in the past, and is seen as a champion of caste justice in Karnataka. He has also been associated with the AHINDA, a movement for the cause of backward classes, minorities and Dalits. 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][Two to tango: On the Congress settling the leadership issue in Karnataka]( [Arrow][Warming warning: On the World Meteorological Organization projections for temperature trends]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz In which city was a 125-feet tall statue of B.R Ambedkar, the largest in the country, recently unveiled? - Indore - Pune - Hyderabad - Nagpur To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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