Bengaluru, 30 May

Karnataka state Congress President DK Shivakumar was elected leader of the legislature party on Saturday, paving the way for him to take over as the next chief minister of the State, party sources said.

Senior leader Siddaramaiah, the outgoing chief minister, proposed Shivakumar's name as the new leader of the legislature party at the meeting held at Vidhan Soudha. The meeting was overseen by AICC general secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala.

However, the CLP meeting to elect the new leader took a break, and top leaders including Siddaramaiah, Venugopal and Surjewala went into a huddle in a separate room, according to sources.

Shivakumar's swearing-in as the new CM will take place on 3 June at the Glass House of Lok Bhavan here.

Siddaramaiah resigned as Chief Minister on Thursday and Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, accepted his resignation the next day and dissolved the Council of Ministers.