Siddaramaiah informed his Cabinet colleagues that he will step down as the Karnataka chief minister, signaling the start of a leadership transition within the Congress government.
The announcement was made during a breakfast meeting at Cauvery, the chief minister's official residence in Bengaluru, attended by senior ministers and party leaders.
According to party leaders, Siddaramaiah intends to formally submit his resignation later in the day and a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party will be convened to elect a new leader of the Assembly and the next chief minister.
Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara said Siddaramaiah wants to thank all the ministers for their cooperation before demitting office.
The developments followed several rounds of discussions in New Delhi involving Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and the Congress leadership.
Senior party leaders privately acknowledged that a transfer of power was imminent, with DK Shivakumar expected to take over as the new chief minister.
