Bengaluru/IBNS: After registering a thumping victory in Karnataka, the Congress MLAs are set to meet on Sunday evening to decide on the chief minister.

In the meeting, which Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar said is scheduled for 6 pm at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bengaluru, the Congress Legislative Party is expected to pass a resolution leaving it to the Congress national president to decide the chief minister pick.

DK Shivakumar and former Chief Minister and leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah have both been vocal about their aspirations to become the chief minister, raising fears of an unpleasant stand-off within the party if the matter isn't resolved.

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, who held a joint press conference with the two top state party leaders last evening, dedicated the victory to the people of the state and promised to implement welfare schemes promised in the party manifesto.

However, Kharge is headed back to Delhi this afternoon to meet Sonia Gandhi.

He won't be present at the big meeting in Bengaluru this evening.

The Congress has won 136 seats, 56 more than in 2018 with a vote share of 42.9 percent. The closest the Congress came to this score was in 1999 when it won 132 seats and had a vote share of 40.84 percent.

In 1989, it won 178 seats with a vote share of 43.76 percent.