Karnataka Congress Chief, DK Shivakumar, has accepted the party's proposal to be the next Deputy Chief Minister of the state following former party president Sonia Gandhi's intervention, sources claimed.
Party sources say the Congress top brass has chosen Siddaraiamah for the Chief Minister role, with Mr Shivakumar as his deputy.
The deal was clinched after Sonia Gandhi spoke to Mr Shivakumar, who had been firm on his demand for the Chief Minister post, late last evening to resolve the deadlock.
The Congress had been struggling to get Mr Shivakumar on board with the idea of a second term for Mr Siddaramaiah in the top post.
Both Mr Siddaramaiah and Mr Shivakumar had met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Party General Secretary KC Venugopal yesterday - presenting their cases as contenders for the top post.
Mrs Gandhi spoke to Mr Shivakumar late last evening after which he accepted the number 2 spot.
The oath-taking ceremony is scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on Saturday.
AdvertisementMr Shivakumar had been insisting on the top post, citing his work over the last four years -after its coalition government with HD Kumaraswamy's Janata Dal Secular had collapsed following a mass party switch by MLAs. But he also said he would not resort to "blackmail".
"Sonia Gandhi told me, 'I have confidence in you that you will deliver Karnataka'. I am sitting here, doing my regular responsibility. You should have the basic courtesy, a bit of gratitude. They should have the courtesy to acknowledge who is behind the win," he had told NDTV in an exclusive interview earlier.
