Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah was on Saturday sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka at a grand ceremony in Bengaluru. The newly formed government held its first cabinet meeting and provisionally agreed to implement its election commitments including Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the female head of every household (Griha Lakshmi), 10 kg rice free to each member of the BPL household (Anna Bhagya) agreed with. ,
State Congress President DK Shivakumar was officially sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister along with eight other MLAs who were appointed as Ministers. The newly appointed ministers include G Parameshwara, KH Muniyappa, KJ George, MB Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge (son of AICC President M Mallikarjuna Kharge), Ramalinga Reddy and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to the chief minister and his cabinet at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, the same venue where Siddaramaiah was sworn in when he first became chief minister in 2013.
‘Inclusive’ cabinet
A day after the report of an “inclusive” cabinet with representation from all communities, it was confirmed that three of the eight MLAs belong to the Scheduled Caste community. In addition, there is one representative each from Christians, Lingayats, STs, Reddys. and Muslim community. Siddaramaiah belongs to the Kuruba community, while the deputy chief minister, Shivakumar, belongs to the Vokkaliga community.
According to Congress party sources, the list of eight ministers was approved by the party high command. Initially the plan was to induct a large number of MLAs in the cabinet. However, it is reported that there was a disagreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar over some names, which led to discussions about the composition of the cabinet in New Delhi till late last night.
first cabinet meeting
Within hours of the swearing-in ceremony, the new government held its first cabinet meeting, where it approved “in principle” the Congress party’s five guarantees ahead of the elections.
Addressing a press conference, Siddaramaiah provided the estimate and said that fulfilling these poll commitments would result in an annual expenditure of about Rs 50,000 crore from the state exchequer. He stressed that irrespective of any possible financial implications, the government is committed to implementing pre-poll assurances.
Rs 2,000 assistance to woman, 10 kg free rice in Congress’s 5 ‘guarantees’
On its first day in power, the Congress Party resolved to implement several key guarantees. These include providing 200 units of free electricity to all households (Griha Jyoti), monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 to the female head of every household (Griha Lakshmi), distribution of 10 kg rice free of cost to each member below poverty line. families (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 per month to unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 per month to unemployed diploma holders (18-25 years of age) for a period of two years (Yuvanidhi), and to women in public transport buses Ensuring free travel (power).
Siddaramaiah, who chaired the cabinet meeting, said the “guarantees” would “most likely” come into force after the next cabinet meeting.
The chief minister announced that the assembly would convene for three days starting May 22, during which the newly elected legislators would take oath. The election for the post of president is also going to be held soon.
‘Karnataka lost special grant of Rs 5,495 crore due to PM Modi’
Attacking the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he alleged that the state suffered losses in the form of legitimate special grants of Rs 5,495 crore mentioned in the interim report of the 15th Finance Commission.
Noting that Union Finance Minister and Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka Nirmala Sitharaman omitted it from the final report, she said, “Karnataka suffered because of Narendra Modi.”
Siddaramaiah faces balancing act in cabinet formation
With a sanctioned strength of 34, there are many contenders for ministerial berths in the Karnataka cabinet. In the coming days, Siddaramaiah is expected to face the daunting task of allocating portfolios to newly inducted ministers and expanding the cabinet with a careful balance of representatives from different communities, regions, factions as well as both the experienced and the new generation. Legislator.
The challenge comes after the Congress party resolved the impasse by declaring Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister and Shivakumar as the sole deputy, which ended the impasse on Thursday. Subsequently, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader in a meeting. He then approached the governor and staked a claim to form the government, which was accepted.
Opposition unity in swearing-in ceremony
The swearing-in ceremony was held in the presence of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former party president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. However, former AICC President Sonia Gandhi was absent. Several prominent party leaders including chief ministers of Congress-ruled states Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Sukhwinder Singh Sukku (Himachal Pradesh) also attended the event.
The ceremony displayed a friendly and cordial atmosphere with the participation of Chief Ministers MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu), Hemant Soren (Jharkhand), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), and Tejashwi Yadav (Deputy CM-Bihar). Notable leaders from other political parties including NCP president Sharad Pawar, National Conference supremo Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, actor-politician Kamal Haasan, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI general secretary D Raja were also present. among others.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who attended the Quad and G7 summits in Japan, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai congratulated Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar on their appointment as CM and Deputy CM.
In the elections held on May 10 for the 224-member assembly, the Congress party won a landslide victory by winning 135 seats. The ruling BJP secured 66 seats, while the Janata Dal (Secular), led by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, secured 19 seats.