Karnataka Governor Out of Town, Can Siddaramaiah Still Resign From The CM Post?

The announcement of a change of guard in the three-year-old Congress government in Karnataka seems imminent, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking the Governor's appointment on Thursday, May 28. Siddaramaiah was reportedly asked by the Congress high command to make way for deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar's elevation to the top post after back-to-back meetings held in the national capital earlier this week.While CM Siddaramaiah has sought Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's appointment on Thursday amid speculations that he will tender his resignation from the top post. However, Gehlot is not in the state and had to travel to Madhya Pradesh for a family emergency. According to reports, the Governor left Bengaluru on Wednesday for Indore. It

is not known when he willwill he return to Bengaluru. Can a Chief Minister resign when a Governor is not present in the state? According to India's Constitution, the Chief Minister of the state tenders his/her resignation to the Governor of the state. . If the Governor's office is vacant (e.g., due to transfer, illness, or resignation), the CM submits their resignation to the acting Governor, or formally to the President of India. However, in this scenario, the Governor is in a different state. So, the chief minister may submit his resignation to the Governor's Secretariat or the Secretary at the Raj Bhavan. The other option is that the resignation may also be sent to the Governor through fax or email.Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara confirmed Siddaramaiah's resignation before the Thursday breakfast meet. "The Chief Minister has called all the ministers for breakfast and before he resigns, he wants to thank all the ministers for their cooperation...I am not aware whether he (Siddaramaiah) was offered a position in Delhi; it is up to the high command..." Parameshwara told reporters. There have been speculations about a possible change of chief minister in Karnataka for months. Supporters of Shivakumar have been insisting on his elevation in line with a reported power-sharing agreement with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah when the party won the 2023 Assembly elections.There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also party state president, for the chief minister's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had then managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy CM.There were reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula." However, no such discussion was made official by the Grand Old Party.