Siddaramaiah to be Karnataka CM, DK Shivkumar to become deputy: Report

New Delhi : The grind to pick up Chief Minister and Deputy CM for Karnataka finally comes to an end with Siddaramaiah being finalised for the top post and DK Shivkumar as his deputy at the Congress Legislative Party meeting held in Bengaluru. The oath taking ceremony is likely to be held on Saturday.

While it is almost finalized that Siddaramaiah will be the Chief Minister, it is not clear if DK Shivkumar has accepted the post of Deputy CM. The Congress had been working hard to get DK on board with Siddaramaiah continuing on the top post for the second term.

According to a report, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge made two offers to DK Shivkumar, but both the offers were allegedly turned down by him.

Mr. Shivakumar was offered the position of the state's sole Deputy Chief Minister in addition to his current role as the head of the state party unit under the first option. Furthermore, he was provided the opportunity to select six ministries based on his preference. 

Option 2 was also available, which involved power sharing between Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Siddaramaiah. According to the report, under this arrangement, Mr. Siddaramaiah would have held the top position for two years, followed by Mr. Shivakumar for three years.

Meanwhile, DK Shivkumar have been reluctant on the offers and wanted the top post only.