Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah is set to be the next Karnataka chief minister, and his swearing-in ceremony is likely to take place on Thursday. A report in India Today said that he is likely to take oath alone. D K Shivakumar, another contender for the top post, has been offered the deputy chief ministerial post, according to sources. A meeting of all the 135 Congress MLAs is expected to be held on Thursday. Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar met party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. Meanwhile, The All India Veershaiva Mahasabha on Monday wrote a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, demanding that the chief minister post should be offered to someone from the Lingayat community. The organisation has also demanded berths in the state Cabinet. "We urge the Congress to give a chance or consider Veershaiva-Lingayat community leader for the post of Karnataka chief minister. We also request to accomodate or give chance to members in Cabinet berths, which is proportionate to the number of MLAs of our community," the letter read.
In the letter, the All India Veershaiva Mahasabha cited the fact that 34 Congress MLAs who won the Assembly election belonged to the Lingayat community. The Congress had fielded 46 candidates from the community, of whom 34 won, it said. The top Lingayat body said it believed the Congress should retain the support of the Lingayats for next year's Lok Sabha election."We strongly feel that we have to hold back the support of Veershaiva-Lingayat community with the Congress, so that members of the party can get maximum possible numbers of MPs from our state," the letter said. Lingayats account for over 15 per cent of Karnataka's total population and have played a crucial role in swinging outcomes in around 100 seats in the 224-member state Assembly. Given its electoral significance, several parties, including the Congress and the BJP, campaign hard and promote the community before polls are held. The Congress secured a resounding victory in the May 10 Karnataka Assembly election, winning 135 of the 224 seats, ousting the BJP from power. The BJP was a distant second with 66 seats and the JD(S), which had hoped to play the kingmaker, was down with just 19 seats. Since then, the party was facing the challenging task of appointing the next chief minister of the state.