Congress invites like-minded parties for Karnataka CM oath-taking; Mamata, KCR among invitees

The swearing-in of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar is slated on May 20, according to reports, and the Congress on Thursday invited the leaders of like-minded parties.

Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, who recently met with Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Maharashtra Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, in Mumbai, reportedly received an invitation to the swearing-in event.

The sources revealed that invitation has also been given to leaders of like-minded opposition groups, including Hemant Soren, Sitaram Yechuri, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Farooq Abdullah, as well as the head of the Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav, and the chief minister of the state of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik.

Other opposition figures who have been invited include West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, members of the Gandhi family, will also attend the event.

There will also be Chief Ministers from the states that are governed by the Congress, including Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu from Himachal, Ashok Gehlot from Rajasthan, and Bhupesh Baghel from Chhattisgarh.

In the meantime, reports suggest that Congress leader Siddaramaiah would submit a proposal to form the government this evening after speaking with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on the phone on Thursday following the announcement of the Karnataka CM.

Sources at Raj Bhavan have said that the swearing-in ceremony will take place in Bengaluru on May 20 at 12.30 p.m. For this occasion, Congress MLA G Parameshwara visited Raj Bhavan on behalf of the party and met with the Governor.

“Karnataka CM-designate Siddaramaiah spoke with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot over the phone. Siddaramaiah wished him on his birthday and discussed the date for the swearing-in ceremony. The ceremony will be held on May 20 at 12.30 pm. Siddaramaiah today evening will stake the claim to form the Government,” the sources have told.

“Congress MLA G Parameshwara went to Raj Bhavan as a representative of the Congress Party and met Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and gave information about the formation of the government by the Congress Party which has won victory in 135 seats in the 2023 elections,” they further stated.

After winning the Karnataka Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar camped out in the national capital for days before departing this afternoon for Bengaluru. Today at 7 o’clock, a Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting will take place in Bengaluru.

Former CM Siddaramaiah named the next Karnataka CM after long deliberations

Siddaramaiah, the party’s leader, was named the next Karnataka CM by Congress on Thursday after days of debate, while DK Shivakumar was named as his deputy.

At the Congress headquarters in the capital, KC Venugopal, general secretary (organization) of the Congress, made the declaration. According to him, Shivakumar would remain the state Congress’s leader through the Lok Sabha elections. The sole Deputy Chief Minister will be him.

“DK Shivakumar will continue as the PCC president till the end of parliamentary elections. CM, Deputy CM and a group of ministers will be sworn in on May 20,” KC Venugopal said.

After frantic negotiations for days in Delhi, the newly elected MLAs gave party leader Mallikarjun Kharge permission to select the next Karnataka CM. Former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar staked out the position of Chief Minister.

Over the previous several days, the party leadership had a number of meetings during which many different ideas were put up until a decision was made.

In the 224-member Karnataka Assembly elections held on May 10, the opposition Congress party defeated the incumbent BJP, which received 66 seats, and the Janata Dal (Secular), which won 19 seats.