Bengaluru, May 29 (IANS) In a major development, caretaker Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Saturday amid ongoing political developments following his resignation as Chief Minister.

The meeting has been convened to elect a new leader of the Congress Legislature Party following Siddaramaiah’s resignation from the post. The newly-elected CLP leader is expected to become the party’s choice for the Chief Minister’s post.

The CLP meeting will begin at 4 P.M. at the Conference Hall of Vidhana Soudha. Siddaramaiah, who is currently the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, will preside over the meeting.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President, D.K. Shivakumar, AICC General Secretary and Karnataka incharge Randeep Singh Surjewala, Legislative Council floor leader N.S. Bose Raju, and all executive presidents of the party will be present at the meeting.

The announcement was made by Allamaprabhu Patil, MLA and Secretary of the Congress Legislature Party.

All Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs), Lok Sabha members, and Rajya Sabha members have been asked to attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah left Delhi after meeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge. He is expected to arrive at HAL Airport in Bengaluru at 5.30 P.M. today.

Before departing from Delhi, Siddaramaiah, D.K. Shivakumar, Congress MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, and former minister K.H. Muniyappa had lunch together.

Siddaramaiah also met AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal in Delhi. Later, he held discussions for some time with D.K. Shivakumar and former minister K.J. George.

Interestingly, Karnataka Minister H.K. Patil on Friday said that D.K. Shivakumar is set to become the next Chief Minister and will likely take oath within the next two days.

Speaking to IANS, Patil said, “Shivakumar is already the Chief Minister-designate. Yesterday, when former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his thoughts and spoke about the discussions held in Delhi, he clearly stated that he had been advised to resign and that Shivakumar should be made the next Chief Minister. From that moment itself, it became clear that Shivakumar would be our next Chief Minister.”

–IANS

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