The run-up to the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting on Sunday evening was marked by intense lobbying by the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar in a bid to be chosen as Chief Minister of the State. The two leaders had put up a united front during the campaign for the Assembly polls. They had admitted that both were aspirants for the post, but that the party high command would finally take a call.
Calls to MLAs
Multiple MLAs in the party said the two leaders began making calls to them even before the results were declared on Saturday, appealing to them to support them in the CLP meeting. On Saturday, while Mr. Shivakumar had been on a whirlwind tour of several mutts and expressed his desire to be the Chief Minister, Mr. Siddaramaiah, who returned to the city from his constituency on Saturday night, maintained a low profile and had several MLAs-elect visiting him at his residence.