Siddaramaiah demands assent from party high command to continue as LoP, CLP

The former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah asserted that he will continue as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader only after the high command and other senior leaders in Karnataka give assent to it. This comes after he met the interim president of the party Sonia Gandhi at her residence in New Delhi. He informed the senior Congress leaders AK Antony and Ahmed Patel about his decision. 

Congress urges Siddaramaiah to take back his resignation

Reportedly, AK Antony and Ahmed Patel tried to convince Siddaramaiah to take back his resignation and to lead the party in Karnataka. However, Siddaramaiah has put some conditions in front of leadership and said that he will continue only on high command's approval. Siddaramaiah has been upset with the party leaders who have spoken over his leadership in Karnataka. 

Read: BIG: Smashed in bypolls, Siddaramaiah quits as Karnataka LoP & CLP chief; Gundurao too

In the past, the Congress leaders such as Mallikarjun Kharge, Dr G Parameshwar, MB Patil, DK Shivakumar, SR Patil and HK Patil questioned Siddaramaiah’s "one-man" leadership. Siddaramaiah also spoke about this issue with Sonia Gandhi. After the recent Karnataka bypolls, Siddaramaiah led Congress party lost on 13 seats in the state. 

They managed to win only the two constituencies of Hunsur and Shivajinagar. Soon after the results, Siddaramaiah had resigned from both LoP and CLP leadership.  

Read: Karnataka bypolls LIVE Updates: BJP wins 6 seats, leads in 6; retains majority in Assembly

Congress’ defeat acceptance in Karnataka

After Congress lost the bypolls in Karnataka, senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar had said that they had accepted the mandate. He added that the people accepted defectors while declaring that Congress has to accept defeat. Moreover, he said that no one can remove Congress from Karnataka.

Read: Karnataka Bypoll results: Congress accepts defeat; BJP looks set to retain power

He said, "We have to agree with the mandate of the voters of these 15 constituencies. People have accepted the defectors. We have accepted defeat. I don't think we have to be disheartened. We need not lose hope, byelections are different than general elections. Results are results, I do not want to defer with the results. I am confident that as far as Karnataka is concerned, the Congress party has a very stronghold. It will not vanish. No one can remove Congress." 

(With ANI Inputs)

Read: Karnataka by-poll results: Could CM Yedipurappa's BJP govt be toppled? Numbers here