Congress has made it BIG in the state of Karnataka and BJP seems to book its seat as opposition as none of its tools & tactics have translated into votes. Even the utilization of ‘Bajrangbali’ didn’t help them out and today Congress leaders were serving laddoos to the same Bajrangbali after crossing the halfway mark. But after pulling out the majority, the old question erupts yet again – who will reign the state? Who is the most eligible CM candidate – DK Shivakumar or Siddaramaiah?

Shivkumar, seven-time MLA, has won again from Kanakapura with an unprecedented margin whereas Siddaramaiah too has managed to grab his seat in Varuna with good numbers. The two are top leaders of Congress, but there has to be only one chief minister. This is the very same situation that Congress faced in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

In MP, the party chose Kamalnath and in Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot remained the choice of high command. This decision didn’t turn out well as Scindia chose to gel with BJP with his supporting MLAs that snatched the throne from Congress. On the other side, the tussle between Gehlot and Sachin Pilot remained in the headlines all these years.

Shivkumar: The undefeated man

Popularly known as the ‘Sankatmochak of Karnataka’, DK Shivkumar came into politics as a youth leader and became MLA at the age of 27 from Sathanur and there was no turning back since then. In the 2018 assembly elections as well, it was he who tried fixing everything to make Congress the ruling party with JDS. All these years, he worked extensively to campaign for the party and undoubtedly it was his efforts that brought Congress to this unprecedented win. He shared a short video of his campaigns a few days back to showcase his efforts for the party which shows his interest in betting for the position. Today he went emotional after succeeding in the mission while thanking voters for the support . Shivkumar has never been defeated in the assembly elections till date.

Siddaramaiah: Sonia’s man in state

Siddaramaiah was once among the key opponents of Congress, he used to be among the key leaders of Janata Dal and then its fraction – JDS. But in 2005, after having differences with HD Deve Gowda, he was expelled from the party. The same year he joined Congress in the presence of Sonia Gandhi in Bengaluru. Subsequently, he won the Chamundeshwari bypoll in December 2006. He is the only CM of Karnataka to have completed the five-year tenure. His schemes in Karnataka have been applauded by the commoners.

Congress betting on whom?

While there are speculations about Karnataka turning into ‘Rajasthan’, Congress has chosen to give the credit for this victory to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. A meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow in Bengaluru to decide on the CM’s name but as the party’s social media signals, it seems like INC will again follow the pattern of making the chief minister to the close aide and deputy CM to the hard-working candidate. Siddaramaiah met party president Mallikarjun Kharge to congratulate him, saying a lot about what’s next.

Also, a video tweet from INC’s official Twitter handle showing Rahul Gandhi holding hands with both the leaders suggests the party’s interest in following the trend of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.