BENGALURU: Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he resigned from the Karnataka Chief Minister's position, two days after the party high command asked him to do so.
He thanked the Congress leadership --Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi- for allowing him to serve the people of Karnataka as its Chief Minister twice.
Flanked by his deputy and successor D K Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah addressed a packed press conference shortly after submitting his resignation to the Governor's Special Secretary at Lok Bhavan here. Special Secretary Prabhu Shankar received the resignation because Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot was out of the state.
"I have tendered my resignation from the Chief Minister's post," Siddaramaiah told reporters, while expressing confidence that the Governor would accept his resignation as per Constitutional provisions.
Siddaramaiah also said that he had made it clear time and again that he would resign whenever the high command instructed him to do so.
"The high command directed me two days ago to step down, and accordingly I submitted my resignation today. I got the opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka twice, for which I thank Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi & Mallikarjun Kharge," he said.
Shivakumar and other cabinet colleagues also accompanied Siddaramaiah to the Lok Bhavan.
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also the party state president, for the coveted chief minister's post after Congress won the May 2023 Assembly election. The party then managed to convince Shivakumar and made him the deputy CM.
Reports at the time suggested a compromise based on a "rotational chief minister formula," under which Shivakumar would become CM after two-and-a-half years, but there was no official confirmation from the party or the two leaders.
Earlier in the day, at a breakfast hosted at his residence for cabinet colleagues, Siddaramaiah informed ministers of his decision to step down and that Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar would be his successor, as per the directions of the Congress high command.
In a picture shared by the Chief Minister's Office from the breakfast meeting, Siddaramaiah is seen hugging an emotional Shivakumar. In another picture, CM hopeful Shivakumar is seen touching the feet of Siddaramaiah and taking his blessings.
The developments leading to the resignation follow the Congress high command asking Siddaramaiah to make way for a leadership change in the state and offering him a central role in the party with a Rajya Sabha seat. As per reports, Siddaramaiah has not immediately accepted the central role.
Some sources indicate Siddaramaiah decided to step down because the message came directly from top party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were summoned to Delhi on Tuesday by the party, where there were back-to-back meetings at the Congress headquarters involving Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretaries K C Venugopal and Surjewala.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah's supporters staged protests in several parts of the state against his resignation.
Emotional scenes unfolded at Siddaramaiah's official residence here, as a large group of supporters almost surrounded him, asking him not to resign. The CM tried to comfort them.
Celebrations were seen near D K Shivakumar's residence following the news that he will be the next CM of the state.