Karnataka by-poll debacle: Top Cong leaders resign

After losing both the seats in the by-polls of the Karnataka legislative assembly, state Pradesh Congress Committee's working president D K Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition Siddaramiah resigned from their posts on Thursday.

The two leaders resigned after accepting the moral responsibility for the party's defeat in Kadur and Gulbarga. The Bharatiya Janata Party won the Kadur seat while the Janata Dal Secular won the Gulbarga seat.

Incidentally, the election to the post of office bearers in the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee is round the corner. According to sources, R V Deshpande, who is the currently the president, will be replaced following a decision of the party high command. The Karnataka Congress has made it clear that the new leader of the party's state unit will be decided by party chief Sonia Gandhi, not by holding elections.