After four days of intense lobbying and hectic negotiations, the Congress leadership managed to broker a deal in the wee hours of Thursday between Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar to resolve the Karnataka chief minister tussle. As expected, Siddaramaiah will take over as the Chief Minister. Shivakumar will be sworn in as the sole Deputy Chief Minister, along with some significant portfolios. Shivakumar will continue on as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president. While the Shivakumar camp has claimed that the party leadership has agreed to a two-and-a-half-year term-sharing formula, it is not clear whether the leadership will announce it publicly. The two will take oath on May 20. Shivakumar was initially not enthusiastic about the central party leadership's offers – a shared term with Siddaramiah, or the Deputy Chief Minister’s post with some important portfolios. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh8vegXGbJ8&ab_channel=TheIndianExpress He was not keen to become one of the two or three deputy chief ministers, given his stature as the state Congress chief who played a key role in bringing the party to power. The deal was sealed after the leadership late night agreed to Shivakumar's demand to make him the only deputy chief minister. A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party will be held in Bengaluru this evening where Siddaramaiah will be officially elected as the CLP leader.
