Major political churn in Karnataka: Siddaramaiah resigns; DK Shivakumar set to take over as Chief Minister

BENGALURU: In a major political development, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced his resignation today, paving the way for Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to take the helm of the state government. The move honours a pre-election power-sharing pact brokered by the Congress party's central leadership.

The official announcement was made on Thursday morning during a high-profile breakfast meeting convened at 'Kaveri', the Chief Minister’s official residence in Bengaluru. The meeting was attended by Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar and several senior cabinet ministers, including M.B. Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Dr. G. Parameshwara, Madhu Bangarappa, Ramalinga Reddy, and Chaluvarayaswamy.

While the formal declaration of the next Chief Minister will succeed an upcoming Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting, top party sources have verified that Shivakumar is slated to succeed Siddaramaiah.

Context of the Transition: The leadership transition follows a high-level meeting in New Delhi last Tuesday between Siddaramaiah and the Congress high command. Reports indicate that Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi directly intervened, instructing Siddaramaiah to honour the rotational terms of the initial agreement to hand over the reins after the designated period.

Siddaramaiah, who recently completed a cumulative three years in office this May, steps down to facilitate a smooth transition of power, concluding months of speculation regarding internal leadership friction within the state's ruling party.