Former chief minister N Dharam Singh on Tuesday said that KPCC President Mallikarjuna Kharge will be the chief ministerial candidate in the coming elections.

Addressing media in Bangalore, he said there is a tradition in the State Congress that whoever is heading the KPCC would become the CM, in the event of the party emerging victorious.

“I was KPCC president and subsequently became the CM. Similarly, Kharge will follow the suit,” he stated.
However, Mr Singh’s statement has raised many eyebrows in the political circles, as it was against the earlier opinion expressed by senior leaders that the party would work on the basis of collective leadership.
Former KPCC president and senior leader of the party Janardhan Poojary openly opposed Mr Singh’s announcement by terming it as against the principles of the Congress.