No differences with Siddaramaiah, never sought anything for myself: DK Shivakumar

Tumakuru: Karnataka Congress unit president D K Shivakumar on Sunday hinted that he is in the chief ministerial race saying he took everyone along and never sought anything for himself.

He also brushed aside speculations about differences between him and former chief minister Siddaramaiah.

Speaking to reporters at Nonavinakere here, Shivakumar said the Congress and the Legislature Party will decide the next chief minister of Karnataka.

On the question that those who toiled should also get preference instead of those who are liked by the people, Shivakumar said when Siddaramaiah and Dinesh Gundu Rao had resigned as the Congress Legislature Party president and head of the state unit respectively after the party's rout in 2019 by-elections, then Congress national president Sonia Gandhi had reposed faith in him and made him president.

Shivakumar also recalled that when he was in jail in a money laundering case, Gandhi had visited him to show her support.

"I had not done anything wrong for myself. Whatever I did was for the party. All my sufferings were for the party," he asserted.

The Congress state chief, who won the Assembly election on Saturday from Kanakapura, said he had toiled day and night while taking everyone along.

"Everyone was saying that there are differences between me and Siddaramaiah but let me tell you not a single iota of difference is there. I just kept myself grounded and walked my path," Shivakumar added.

CLP meet to decide next CM

The Congress on Sunday appointed three central observers, including senior leader Sushil Kumar Shinde, ahead of its crucial legislature party meeting in Karnataka to elect the new chief minister, amid hectic lobbying for the top post.

Besides Shinde, a former chief minister of Maharashtra, the other observers are party general secretary Jitendra Singh and former AICC general secretary Deepak Babaria.

AICC general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal said the central observers would oversee the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting. The newly elected Congress MLAs in Karnataka are meeting in Bengaluru at 5.30 pm to discuss government formation.

Leader of Opposition in the outgoing assembly Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D K Shivakumar are strong claimants and front-runners for the coveted post.

The Congress won the Karnataka Assembly elections with a thumping majority by winning 135 out of 224 seats whereas the ruling BJP could garner only 66 seats.

(With PTI inputs.)