Bangalore: Ahead of Congress observers’ arrival here for selection of Karnataka’s new chief minister, the race for the post intensified with more Congress leaders wanting their names to be considered.
Siddaramaiah, who was leader of the opposition in the outgoing assembly, and central Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge remained front runners for the post, say Congress sources.
The Congress on Wednesday scored a clear victory in the assembly poll, winning 121 seats in the 225-member house.
The newly elected legislators have been called to the party office here for a discussion with the central observers, state Congress chief G Parameshwara said in a press statement.
The central observers would be led by Defence Minister A K Antony and would include former central minister Ambika Soni and Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Madhusudan Mistry, sources said.
They would ascertain from the legislators who is their choice for chief minister and brief Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who will take the final decision.
Yesterday, two former ministers who also held top posts in the state Congress unit, RV Deshpande and DK Shivakumar, said their services to the party should be taken into account while picking the chief minister.
Shivakumar, a former working president of the state unit, tried to play his caste card, saying he came from a community, Vokkaligas, that had contributed much to the growth of the Congress in the state.
He told reporters that he had won the assembly election for the sixth time in a row and had experience and ability to carry various sections of the party with him.
Earlier in the day, pitching himself as the next chief minister, Siddaramaiah said all 120 of the party’s newly elected legislators were with him.
IANS
