Shivakumar says ‘will not backstab, blackmail’ as Congress mulls Karnataka's next CM

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief DK Shivakumar, and MLA from Kanakapura is one of the front runners for the Chief Minister position after Congress bagged a historic win of 135 seats in the Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023, pushing out the incumbent Basavraj Bommai-led Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

Two Congress heavyweights former chief minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are the frontrunners for the CM's post of Karnataka.

While Siddaramaiah had got a call from the high command and left for Delhi on Monday, Shivakumar, who was also celebrating his birthday stayed back in Bengaluru citing ‘stomach infection’.

On Tuesday Shivakumar left for Delhi and has landed in the national capital almost an hour ago. Senior leaders including Rahul Gandhi has gathered at Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Parliament  Mallikarjun Kharge's residence to take a decision on who should helm the state legislative assembly of Karnataka. 

Shivakumar left for Delhi on Tuesday and said, "If the party wants they can give me the responsibility......."

"The Party is my god...We have built this party, I am a part of it and I am not alone in this," he said before his departure from Bengaluru.

"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.

Before leaving for Delhi, Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru, “Ours is a united house, our number is 135. I don't want to divide anyone here. Whether they like me or not, I am a responsible man. I will not backstab and I will not blackmail.”

This statement seems like a clarion call to Congress's ongoing crisis that tends to recur with dissident leader Sachin Pilot. Pilot, who was the deputy chief minister in Rajsthan, along with 18 other MLAs had rebelled against the functioning of chief minister Ashok Gehlot and the toubles that 

DK Shivakumar had on Monday said that he has done his duty and now it was up to the party's high command to take a call. "We have passed a one-line resolution. We will leave it to the party's high command. I have not decided to go to Delhi. I have done whatever job I have to do," Shivakumar, an eight-time MLA told reporters.

Amid rapid speculations that have emerged from all parts of society juxtaposed with anticipation, the people of Karnataka who registered record voter turnout for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Elections 2023, patiently wait for their new CM.

While Siddaramaiah poses the experience of being the CM of Karnataka 2013-18, for Shivakumar the role would be a first time stint.

Siddaramaiah is considered close to Rahul Gandhi and apparently has his backing. However, Shivakumar is known as the party troubleshooter and also for his closeness to Gandhi family, especially Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The Congress won the May 10 Assembly elections, winning 135 seats. Congress pushed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power in the only southern state it ruled and boosting its own prospects for the electoral battles ahead.