After a sweeping victory that ended seven years in the wilderness, the Congress party is in danger of falling prey to traditional infighting if it doesn’t pick a chief minister quickly as one leader after another is announcing his “availability” for the top job.
The A.K. Antony Committee, expected to meet on Thursday, will deliberate on the choices with the two men in contention expected to be Union labour minister Malikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah.
KPCC president G. Parameshwar, who lost his own seat by 18,155 votes, has had to put his chief ministerial ambitions on hold, opening the door for Kuruba leader Siddaramaiah. Mr Siddaramaiah has openly thrown his hat into the ring, claiming that the AHINDA (Kannada acron-ym for minorities, backward classes and dalits) factor which he brought into play was behind the victory of the party.