After a week full of drama and well organised chaos, BJP failed to prove a majority and the Congress-JD(S)'s last minute coalition winning the state, Karnataka chief minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy is all set to take the oath on Wednesday. Addressing the press, he said that modalities of government formation has been decided with the Congress during his meeting with the party president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Following his meeting with the Gandhis, Kumaraswamy said Congress Karnataka in-charge KC Venugopal was travelling with him to the state “to discuss all matters and finalise everything” before his swearing-in. Over a dozen opposition leaders will be attending the ceremony, a show of strength by the opposition. Kumaraswamy's extended guest list includes five chief ministers and senior leaders from most key opposition parties.
After the poll results threw up in a split verdict, BS Yeddyurappa of the BJP resigned barely 55 hours after being sworn in as a chief minister. With numbers remaining stagnant, 104 for the BJP and 117 for JD(S)-Congress-BSP and independents combined, the Supreme Court dramatically gave the BJP time to prove his majority. As Yeddyurappa failed to make things work in his favour, he was forced to resign before a floor test for the second time in his political career. This paved way for Kumaraswamy, who was initially scheduled to take the oath on Monday, however, deferred it to Wednesday instead as May 21 is the death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.
Kumaraswamy personally flew down to Delhi to invite the Gandhis and leaders of ally Congress in Karnataka. Also to be expected in attendance are Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao, former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar leader Lalu Yadavs' son Tejashwi Yadav, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh, DMK chief MK Stalin, actor-politician Kamal Haasan, and ally Dalit leader Mayawati. BJP leaders will not attend the swearing-in to be held at Bengaluru's Vidhan Soudha, and instead, will observe a protest day.
Congress to get Deputy Chief Minister
Congress' Karnataka president G Parameshwara is set to become the Deputy Chief Minister in the new state government. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal told the press, “Party President Rahul Gandhi has approved the name of Parameshwara for the Deputy Chief Minister post in the coalition government.” Parameshwara will take oath after Kumaraswamy. The 34 member ministry will have 22 cabinet ministers from the Congress and 12 from the JD(S). “Speaker of the Legislative Assembly will be from the Congress and Deputy Speaker will be from the JD(S),” Venugopal said. He added, “A joint coordination committee with members from both the parties will be set up in the next couple of days.”
JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda revealed that contrary to popular belief, the decision to make an alliance with the Congress was his son Kumaraswamy's idea. “I had no say in it. He took the decision individually. You know how he has been canvassing throughout the state that he will not repeat the mistake of aligning with the BJP. We have all learnt from our mistakes which we won't commit again,” Gowda said. The former prime minister is currently revelling in his son's victory.
