New Delhi [India], May 15 : Three central observers appointed by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in Karnataka, will return to the national capital on Monday and present their report to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on the question of appointing the chief minister of the State.
The observers were tasked with speaking to newly elected Congress MLAs on the election of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader in Karnataka and subsequently to submit their report to the party's high command.
The three observers appointed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday, include former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and party leaders Bhanwar Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria.
Jitendra Singh, said, "We have taken the views from all the MLAs, the meeting went on till 2 am (this morning). We have prepared a report and will submit it to the Congress president."
Congress leader BK Hariprasad said that in yesterday's CLP meeting, the voting was conducted through a secret ballot.
Earlier on Sunday late night, Congress leader and All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, said that party chief Mallikarjun Kharge will not take long and announce the name of next chief minister of Karnataka soon.
Speaking to reporters after a late-night meeting of newly elected Congress MLAs in Karnataka's Bengaluru, Surjewala said, "Party leadership will take a decision. I can't replace my judgement with Kharge Sahab's judgement. He is our senior, and as you all know him. He is the son of the soil of Karnataka, and I'm sure he will not take very long."
The meeting was convened after Congress Legislature Party (CLP) unanimously passed a resolution authorising party president Mallikarjun Kharge to pick the name of the Karnataka Chief Minister. "The Congress Legislature Party unanimously resolves that AICC President is hereby authorised to appoint the new leader of the Congress Legislature Party," the resolution stated.
The meeting which began late on Sunday night at a hotel in Bengaluru, continued till 1.30 am. It was attended by all 135 newly elected MLAs.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and party leaders Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria were present in the meeting as observers. Party leaders like Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and others also attended the meeting.
Earlier today, a huge number of supporters gathered outside the residence of Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar in Bengaluru on Sunday and raised slogans of 'We want DK Shivakumar as CM'.
Congress, which registered an emphatic victory defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in results of the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections released on Saturday, had been facing the challenge of deciding the chief minister amid speculations of Siddaramaiah being the front-runner followed by state party president DK Shivakumar.
According to the Election Commission of India, Congress won 135 seats pushing 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.
BJP managed to win 66 seats. Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) bagged 19 seats. Independents have won two seats while Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha won one seat each.
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