"Observers will submit report by tonight...will form govt very soon" Surjewala on Karnataka

New Delhi [India], May 15 : All India Congress Committee in charge of Karnataka and MP Randeep Surjewala said on Monday that the observers will submit their report regarding the next Chief Ministerial choice to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, after which the government will be formed in the state very soon.

After registering a landslide victory in Karnataka assembly polls, the party is working on selecting the next Chief Minister of the state; the most probable names among which are former CM Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief DK Shivakumar.

"I would once again like to thank all the 6.5 crore Kannadigas. They created a new history and strengthened democracy and the constitution across the state as well as the country. Now, the Congress party has the support of a total of 138 MLAs; 135 Congress, one ally and 2 independents," Surjewala told the reporters here.

He added, "Two resolutions were passed on Sunday. One resolution was to thank the people for giving the mandate. The other resolution empowered party president Mallikarjun Kharge to make the choice of leader of the Congress legislative party".

The All India Congress Committee in charge of Karnataka further said that the observers will submit their report to the AICC president by tonight.

"Three observers were sent to Karnataka by the party. They had discussions with each and every MLA about the desired situation in the state and the type of leadership required. The observers will submit their report to Mallikarjun Kharge by tonight," he said.

The Congress MP added, "We will also discuss it with other leaders. After this, the party organisation, general secretaries and I will take the issue forward. Very soon, the new Congress government will be formed in the state".

Earlier on Sunday, a meeting convened after the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) unanimously passed a resolution authorising party president Mallikarjun Kharge to pick the name of the Karnataka Chief Minister.

"The Congress Legislature Party unanimously resolves that AICC President is hereby authorised to appoint the new leader of the Congress Legislature Party," the resolution stated.

The meeting which started late on Sunday night at a hotel in Bengaluru, continued till 1.30 am. It was attended by all 135 newly elected MLAs.

Former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and party leaders Jitendra Singh and Deepak Babaria were present in the meeting as observers. Party leaders like Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and others also attended the meeting.

According to the Election Commission of India, Congress won 135 seats pushing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power in the only southern state it ruled and boosting its own prospects for the electoral battles ahead.

BJP managed to win 66 seats. Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) bagged 19 seats. Independents have won two seats while Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha won one seat each.