Congress veteran Siddaramaiah sworn in as Karnataka Chief Minister

Following the party’s landslide victory in the Assembly elections, Congress leader Siddaramaiah was sworn in as Karnataka’s Chief Minister for the second time on Saturday.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to Siddaramiah during the swearing-in ceremony at Bengaluru’s packed Kanteerava Stadium. This is the same stadium where Siddaramaiah took his oath as Chief Minister for the first time in 2013.

The Congress party’s top brass, including Gandhi family members Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, as well as the party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge, were in attendance.

The event was attended by Chief Ministers from Congress-ruled states such as Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot, and Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel.

The party had also extended an invitation to a number of opposition parties and leaders.
MK Stalin of Tamil Nadu, Nitish Kumar of Bihar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, Mehbooba Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, and Farooq Abdullah of Pakistan were also present at the swearing-in ceremony.

Sharad Pawar and Kamal Haasan were among the other opposition leaders present.
In Bengaluru, actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan attends the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Karnataka government. Rahul Gandhi, Shivakumar, and Siddaramaiah were seen holding each other’s hands in the air ahead of the ceremony as a show of strength and unity.