Karnataka swearing-in ceremony: Congress invites like-minded parties; Mamta Banerjee, KCR among invitees

New Delhi: Sources said the Congress has invited leaders of like-minded parties for the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister-designate Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, which is scheduled to take place on May 20. According to sources, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, who recently met Maharashtra Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai recently, will also be sworn in. has been invited to the ceremony. ,

Sources said invitations have also been sent to like-minded opposition parties and their leaders, including Hemant Soren, Sitaram Yechury, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Other opposition leaders invited include Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Gandhi family including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also be present on this occasion. Chief Ministers of Congress ruled states including Himachal CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel will also be present.

Meanwhile, after the announcement of the chief ministerial candidate for Karnataka, Congress leader Siddaramaiah spoke to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot over phone on Thursday and will stake claim to form the government this evening, sources said.

swearing in on 20 may

Raj Bhavan sources said that the swearing-in ceremony will take place on May 20 at 12.30 pm in Bengaluru, for which Congress MLA G Parameshwara went to the Raj Bhavan as the party’s representative and met the Governor.

“Chief Minister-elect of Karnataka Siddaramaiah spoke to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot over phone. Siddaramaiah wished him on his birthday and discussed the date of the swearing-in ceremony. The ceremony will be held on May 20 at 12.30 pm. Siddaramaiah will take oath today evening Will stake claim to form the government,” sources told ANI.

He said, “Congress MLA Ji Parameshwara went to Raj Bhavan as a representative of the Congress party and met Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and informed about the formation of government by the Congress party which will win 135 seats in the 2023 elections.”

Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, who were camping in the national capital for several days after winning the Karnataka Assembly elections, left for Bengaluru this afternoon. There will be a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Bengaluru today at 7 pm.

After days of deliberations, the Congress on Thursday announced that party leader Siddaramaiah would be the next Chief Minister of Karnataka and DK Shivakumar would be the Deputy Chief Minister.

Shivakumar will continue as KPCC chief

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal made the announcement at the party headquarters in the national capital. He said that Shivkumar would remain the State Congress President till the Lok Sabha elections. He will be the only Deputy Chief Minister. Venugopal said, “DK Shivakumar will continue as PCC president till the end of the parliamentary elections. The CM, deputy CM and a group of ministers will be sworn in on May 20.”

The decision on the next Karnataka chief minister came after busy days in Delhi when the newly-elected legislators authorized party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to choose their leader. Former chief ministers Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar both staked claim to become the chief minister. The party leadership held several meetings in the last several days and various formulas were considered before a decision was arrived at.

The Congress won 135 seats in the elections to the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly on 10 May, leaving the ruling BJP with 66, and the Janata Dal (Secular) with 19.