Hectic Parleys Continue in Cong ahead of Decision on Karnataka CM.

NEW Delhi MAY 16: Hectic parleys continued to select a new chief minister for Karnataka. Two front runners for chief minister’s post Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar are in the national capital for further consultations. Mr Shivakumar arrived in Delhi this afternoon after being called by the party high command. Siddaramaiah, the other front-runner for the chief minister’s post, had arrived in the national capital yesterday.

Despite Congress getting a clear mandate in the Karnataka assembly polls, suspense over chief minister continues. The Congress won 135 seats in the 224-member Karnataka assembly. The party’s central observers for Karnataka had yesterday briefed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on the views of the newly elected MLAs. According to party sources, Mr Kharge will consult Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra before announcing a final decision. The Congress legislature party had met late evening on Sunday in Bengaluru and passed a one-line resolution empowering Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge to pick the head of the legislative party.