Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah submitted his resignation on Thursday to the Governor's Special Secretary at Lok Bhavan here.

Special Secretary Prabhu Shankar received the resignation in the absence of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.

According to Lok Bhavan sources, Gehlot is in his native place, Indore, for personal reasons.

Deputy CM D K Shivakumar and other cabinet colleagues accompanied Siddaramaiah as he tendered his resignation.

"I have received the resignation, but it will be accepted by the Governor," Prabhu Shankar told PTI.

As he thanks supporters and fellow Congress leaders, outgoing chief minister Siddaramaiah said he never expected to become an MLA and recalled how his entry into politics was “accidental.”

“I came from a village. I never thought I'd be one MLA, minister or chief minister. My entry to politics is accidental. My parents or anyone in my family is from politics,” the Congress leader said.

“Believe, Buddha, Ambedkar and Basava. I believe in the constitution. I believe all caste, religion and communities should live as one. I also believed that the wealth should be equally distributed. That's why the teachings of Buddha, Bavasa, Gandhi and Ambedkar have remained the root of my politics... I believe that an equal society should be there and everyone gets the same rights,” Siddaramaiah added further.

Earlier in the day at a breakfast hosted at his residence for cabinet colleagues, Siddaramaiah informed Ministers of his decision to step down and that Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will be his successor, as per the directions of the Congress high command.

Siddaramaiah also said that he had made it clear time and again that he would resign whenever the high command instructed him to do so.

"The high command directed me two days ago to step down, and accordingly I submitted my resignation today. I got the opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka twice, for which I thank Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi & Mallikarjun Kharge," he said.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also the party state president, for the coveted chief minister's post after Congress won the May 2023 Assembly election. The party then managed to convince Shivakumar and made him the deputy CM.

In a picture shared by the Chief Minister's Office from the breakfast meeting, Siddaramaiah is seen hugging an emotional Shivakumar. In another picture, CM hopeful Shivakumar is seen touching the feet of Siddaramaiah and taking his blessings.