Last Update: May 18, 2023, 7:24 pm IST
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge (centre) with DK Shivakumar (left) and Siddaramaiah. (Image: Twitter/@Kharge)
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who were in a tough race for the post of Karnataka CM, will take oath along with other ministers on May 20 at 12:30 pm
As the days of suspense came to an end and the Congress officially announced Siddaramaiah as the next Chief Minister of Karnataka and DK Shivakumar as his deputy, the state Congress is now gearing up to hold a grand swearing-in ceremony, which Invitation has been sent to non-BJP chief. Ministers and other leaders of like-minded political parties across the country.
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who were in a tough race for the CM post of Karnataka, will take oath along with other ministers on May 20 at 12:30 pm.
Here is the list of names invited for the swearing-in ceremony:
- The Karnataka Congress has extended invitations to party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
- Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel
- Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot
- Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu
- Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is likely to leave for Ranchi to attend the function on Saturday and return the same day. In Delhi, Soren met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on May 16 and congratulated him on the Congress’ victory in the Karnataka elections.
- Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin received a call from Kharge and Siddaramaiah who invited him to attend the function.
- Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao
- West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
- Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav
- Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar
- Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray
- The JD(U) said on Thursday that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav would attend the function.
- National Conference President Farooq Abdullah
- Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has also been invited.
Earlier in the day, the Congress announced Siddaramaiah as the next Chief Minister of Karnataka and Shivakumar as his sole deputy in the soon-to-be-formed cabinet.
Announcing the decision taken by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said all leaders, including the top leadership, have worked very hard to make Karnataka’s victory a reality. “We have decided on Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Shivakumar will be the sole deputy chief minister,” he said, adding that Shivakumar will also continue as the Karnataka state president of the party till the parliamentary elections are over.
At the same press conference, senior party leader and in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala said that the Congress is committed to fulfilling the five promises it made during the elections and will act on them in the first cabinet meeting.
According to news agency PTI According to sources, along with the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister, about 20 ministers will also be sworn in, including some from the State Legislative Council.
Asked about the much talked about power-sharing formula between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, Venugopal said the only formula is to share power with the people of Karnataka. “We are a democratic party, we believe in consensus and not dictatorship,” he said on the discussions held in the last few days.
In the recently concluded elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress registered a landslide victory by winning 135 seats, while the BJP got 66 and the JD(S) 19.
(With inputs from PTI)
