On Saturday, the Congress defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party by 69 seats in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election. The win marks the Congress’ first victory since last year’s Himachal Pradesh election. On Sunday, Congress supporters faced a poster war as supporters of state leader DK Shivakumar and outgoing Opposition leader Siddaramaiah covered the capital with posters demanding their respective candidates be appointed.
There was no doubt that the Congress would have to choose between two of their most prominent leaders in the state, and the only thing that kept their rivalry from boiling over was the realisation that all members of the party had to work together to defeat the BJP’s highly regarded election machines.
With the record-breaking victory and high vote share, Congress leaders have removed their gloves. A video shared this morning by news agency ANI indicates that the ‘CM race’ has officially begun in Bengaluru outside the residences of both DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah.
DK Shivakumar, the Congress’ main leader in the southern state, made his first push for the chief ministership yesterday evening, shortly after the outgoing chief minister Basavaraj Bommai conceded defeat.
During his message, DK Shivakumar indirectly hinted that he played a vital role in bringing Karnataka under the Congress’ leadership. He thanked the Gandhi family and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for guiding him in his political career. While emotionally recounting his time in jail in Delhi in 2020, he mentioned that Sonia Gandhi’s visit inspired him.
In response to speculation that there could be a conflict in determining the chief minister, Shivakumar said the decision would be made in the ‘temple’ of the Congress party’s Delhi office. He added that he was solely concerned with ensuring the development of Karnataka and good governance for its people.
DK Shivakumar won with a significant margin of over 1.2 lakh votes from his stronghold of Kanakapura.
On the other hand, Siddaramaiah is another seasoned and battle-hardened politician who has served as both the chief minister and deputy chief minister. As the party’s most popular face, Siddaramaiah will likely rely on a different type of sentiment to return to the state’s top post.
Siddaramaiah, the former Chief Minister, has announced that this would be his final electoral contest and his ninth electoral victory. He confirmed his candidacy for the Varuna constituency and announced his retirement from electoral politics.
According to Siddaramaiah, the victory represents a mandate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP Chief JP Nadda. The former MP also expressed hope that Rahul Gandhi would become Prime Minister in the general elections of 2024.
Congress has scheduled a legislative meeting for 5.30 pm this evening. It is unclear if the new chief minister will be announced at this meeting, but there is a possibility.
Reported by Matrika Shukla.
