Karnataka's two chief ministerial aspirants Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar held separate meetings with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday as the party held hectic consultations to decide on who would lead the government in the southern state. Former party chief Rahul Gandhi also drove to Kharge's residence Tuesday morning and held an over 90-minute meeting.
The two leaders discussed the issue of chief ministership and modalities of government formation in Karnataka after the party staged a stunning victory in the May 10 assembly polls in which Congress won 135 out of 224 seats. AICC general secretary in-charge for Karnataka Randeep Surjewala and general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal were also present during the meeting between Kharge and Gandhi. Venugopal later separately met Gandhi at the latter's residence.
Top party leaders were, however, tight-lipped on who was the probable choice for the chief minister's post and by when the decision would be taken.
Sources that discussions could also be held with Sonia Gandhi before the final decision is taken.
Party's spokesperson Pawan Khera said in Hyderabad that a decision on the appointment of the chief minister of Karnataka will be known in a day or two. "Appointing a chief minister is not an easy thing. It cannot be imposed from Delhi... Everybody's view has to be taken into consideration. We have to engage with every stakeholder and then decide who the chief minister will be," he said.
"The process is on. The observers have already gone there, met the MLAs. The MLAs have given their opinions. Now, the opinions have gone, all the record has gone to the central leadership. So, in a day or two you will know the answer," Khera said.
READ | Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's sharp response to Bageshwar Baba Dhirendra Shashtri's comment, know what he said
Earlier, Kharge held discussions with party leaders from Karnataka and the three observers appointed by him to oversee the Congress Legislature Party meeting held in Bengaluru on Sunday. The three central observers - Sushilkumar Shinde, Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria - had met all Congress MLAs individually and sought their views on who would be their choice of chief minister.
They also held a 'secret ballot' on their choice for chief minister. The observers discussed the findings of their report and handed it over to Kharge on Monday night. In the just-concluded Assembly elections, the Congress scored an emphatic victory with 135 seats while the ruling BJP and the former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) secured 66 and 19 seats, respectively.
