Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who served for three years, submitted his resignation on Thursday (May 28) afternoon as per the directive of the Congress high command.
He submitted his resignation letter to the Governor's Secretary Prabhu Shankar at Raj Bhavan. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and other cabinet colleagues were present on the occasion.
According to sources from Raj Bhavan, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot is expected to accept Siddaramaiah's resignation after returning to Raj Bhavan at around 7:30 pm today.
The development comes after months of internal discussions within the Karnataka Congress over leadership change. The issue reportedly led to confusion and differences within the party for the past six months.
On Tuesday, the Congress high command held a six-hour-long meeting in Delhi regarding the leadership arrangement. During this meeting, it was decided that Siddaramaiah would step down as part of an agreed power-sharing formula.
Following this, Siddaramaiah addressed ministers at a breakfast meeting held at his Cauvery residence on Thursday morning. He informed them that he would resign as per the high command's instructions. He also stated that D K Shivakumar would be the next chief minister and requested all leaders to extend their cooperation to him.