Despite the Congress high command's directive to avoid discussing the 'next chief minister', supporters of both Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi continue to publicly push for their respective leaders to take the top spot. This comes amidst reports of a pact that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would lead the state for the first two and a half years and Shivakumar would take over for the rest of the term.
A video released on Monday, the second in two days, shows the two leaders presenting a united front in the polls and exchanging notes on the Congress campaign.
Ending days of suspense, the Congress on Thursday announced Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister of Karnataka and D K Shivakumar as his only deputy in the soon-to-formed cabinet.
Thousands gathered at Bengaluru's Sankey Tank to witness the historic Cauvery Aarati, a grand water ritual that combined spiritual elements with entertainment. The event, which included laser lights, Vedic chants, and a performance by popular musician Raghu Dixit, attracted a diverse crowd, including young people who were curious to see the spectacle. The event was part of a week-long campaign aimed at raising awareness about water conservation.
Several top Congress leaders from party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were involved in the hectic parleys with Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar, which finally helped to break the logjam over the top post in Karnataka.
"We have a commitment before the people of Karnataka. Parliament elections are ahead. So, I have to bow to the AICC president and the Gandhi family. In the larger interest of the party (I have agreed to the formula) and why not, because sometimes the ice should break. Ultimately, there is a responsibility towards what we have a commitment to the people of Karnataka and we have to deliver," he said.
Teary-eyed Congress leader D K Shivakumar on Saturday briefly belied the combative force he is for the Congress party, not just in the just concluded 2023 assembly polls, but on several crucial occasions in the past when his party needed him.
The status report claims that RCB organised a massive victory parade and celebration without prior permission or furnishing mandatory details to city authorities.
Addressing the party cadre in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said, "We got 135 plus seats in the assembly elections, but I am not happy, don't come to my or Siddaramaiah's house. Our next target is the Lok Sabha elections and we must fight well."
As per the Chief Minister's official schedule, Siddaramaiah will be leaving for Delhi by a special flight at 6:30 pm, and will halt in the national capital tonight.
Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, the chief minister also announced a one-man judicial probe, headed by Justice Michael D'Cunha, a retired high court judge of Karnataka, into the tragic incident.
Banners have come up in front of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar's residences in Bengaluru, erected by supporters, congratulating them for Congress win and projecting them as "next CM".
Both of them said, the legislature party meeting has been called, most probably on Thursday, as part of a routine exercise to discuss various programmes and policies of the government, and to ensure coordination between government and party MLAs.
A formal complaint has been lodged against Royal Challengers Bengaluru's star batter Virat Kohli Cubbon Park Police Station in Bengaluru on Friday by social activist H M Venkatesh.
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has overturned the Karnataka government's suspension of IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash, who was suspended following a fatal stampede at a stadium last month. The tribunal's decision could also lead to the reinstatement of other suspended officers.
Tensions ran high in Gubbi taluk on Saturday as the farmers' protest against the Hemavati Link Canal project escalated into violence, prompting police to register FIRs. It is said that more FIRs are likely to follow.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said the state now is not in a position to release Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, due to lack of rains in the river basin region.
Amid speculations of Operation Hasta' going on in Karnataka to woo Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to join the Congress, former BJP minister B C Patil and ex-MLA Narasimha Naik met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar during the birthday party of noted Kannada film actor Sudeep Sanjeev, who is popularly known as Sudeep.
Shivakumar has got the all-important Major and Medium Irrigation and Bengaluru City Development, including the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited.
Security was stepped up in Ramanagara, Shivakumar's home district, on Wednesday as a precautionary measure in light of his supporters staging protests at multiple places after some media outlets claimed that he lost the race for the chief minister's post to Siddaramaiah.
Reports said seven persons were killed, but there was no confirmation of the same.
"If the high command wants, I am ready to take up the responsibility," the former deputy chief minister told reporters while demanding that a Dalit should become CM.
The scheme would be rolled out on the lines of the model adopted by the Congress government in Karnataka.
"We have built this party (Congress), we have built this house. I am a part of it...A mother will give everything to her child," he said.
Shivakumar was scheduled to leave for Delhi on Monday but cancelled the travel plans citing ill-health.
Ending days of suspense, the Congress on Thursday announced Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister of Karnataka and D K Shivakumar as his only deputy in the soon-to-formed cabinet.
On the issue of whether chapters related to the first Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Keshav Baliram Hedgewar are being removed in Karnataka, he said India is a land of diversity.
The BJP has vehemently criticized the Karnataka government's decision to provide four per cent reservation for Muslims in government contracts, labeling it an "unconstitutional misadventure." The party has pledged to challenge the move in court and has vowed to oppose it at all levels. Meanwhile, the ruling Congress party has defended the reservation, arguing that it aligns with constitutional provisions. The issue has led to heated exchanges in the Karnataka Assembly, with both parties accusing each other of engaging in appeasement politics.
Conveying good wishes to people of the state and all political parties for the New Year, he however wished that the Congress comes to power.
The first meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Karnataka will be held at 5.30 pm on Sunday, according to All India Congress Committee in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala.
Congress leader and All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala said on Sunday that the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) has unanimously passed the resolution and the observers will seek the opinions of all MLAs and convey it to the party high command.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lost his temper and made a gesture by raising his hand at a police officer during a protest rally in Belagavi. The incident occurred when a group of people, allegedly BJP workers, attempted to disrupt his speech by displaying a black flag and shouting slogans. Siddaramaiah, visibly upset, summoned the police officer to the stage and instructed him to remove the disruptive individuals. The incident sparked a heated exchange between the CM and BJP leaders, with both sides accusing each other of disrupting rallies and resorting to violence.
The deputy chief minister, he told his voters that their desire (to see him as chief minister) will never be false, and asked them to wait with patience.
Chief minister aspirant and Karnataka state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday cancelled his Delhi trip, hours after confirming he would be flying to the national capital, fuelling speculation that all is not well in the ruling camp over the CM contender issue.
The suspension of 18 Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs from the Karnataka Legislative assembly for six months has been revoked, Speaker U T Khader said on Sunday.
According to several Congress functionaries, Suresh filed his papers as a "backup plan" in the event of the nomination of Shivakumar getting rejected.
'The central BJP leaders were determined to push Hindutva hard, and it failed.'
Amidst alleged power struggles within the ruling Congress in Karnataka, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala has called for discipline within the party, emphasizing that the party is paramount. This comes as the state's chief minister and deputy chief minister submitted a consolidated report on the performance of 31 ministers to Surjewala, fueling speculation about a potential cabinet reshuffle.
Calling the action of the ED as harassment, he questioned the timing of the summons when the Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra was on and when the State Assembly session was underway.
Amid speculation about the number of MLAs supporting him and senior party colleague Siddaramaiah for the post of Karnataka chief minister, state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday said his strength is 135, as under his presidency, the party won the said number of seats in the assembly polls.
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