Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah has taken oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka, while DK Shivakumar has been sworn-in as his deputy today at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. Apart from Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, the Congress is also inducting eight other ministers into the cabinet at the ceremony today. These included MLAs Dr G Parameshwara, KH Muniyappa, KJ George, MB Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge, Ramalinga Reddy and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan.
A Congress delegation led by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar met with Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot late on May 18 to stake claim to form the next government. Preparations began yesterday for the for the swearing-in ceremony of the Karnataka Cabinet. Deputy CM Shivakumar has inspected the arrangements being made.
Notably, this is the Congress' best electoral performance in the state since 1989. As per the results declared by the Election Commission in 223 out of the 224 seats, the Congress has won 135 seats, the BJP's tally has been reduced to 65 and the JD(S) 19. Meanwhile, the party's victory in the Karnataka assembly polls is likely to help get its candidates elected in three of the four Rajya Sabha seats from the state falling vacant next year.
Congress chief M Mallikarjun Kharge has invited leaders of several like-minded parties for the swearing-in ceremony. Among those attending are top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra; Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel; Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot; Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu; Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren; Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin; Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar 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; Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Deputy Tejashwi Yadav; National Conference President Farooq Abdullah; and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik.
The Congress government which has been sworn-in today will stand by its commitmentto fulfill the promises made ahead of the elections, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi said in a video statement."The Congress party is committed towards the peace and progress of Karnataka," she added.
"We will give an administration which people have expected from us. Five guarantees will be passed in the cabinet meeting and an order will be issued to implement them today itself," Siddaramaiahwas quoted as saying by PTI,soon after taking oath as the Chief Minister.
"Congress won this election because it stood with the poor, weak, backwards, Dalits and adivasis of Karnataka"
-- "We made 5 promises to you. I had said we don't make false promises. We do what we say. In 1-2 hours, the first cabinet meeting of the Karnataka govt will happen and in that meeting these 5 promises will become law"
-- "We will give you a clean, non-corrupt government"
Siddaramaiah was sworn in as Chief Minister, along with state Congress President DK Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister, and eight legislators as Ministers today, exactly a week after the party swept the Assembly polls in Karnataka.
The 75-year old Siddaramaiah will become the Chief Minister for the second term after his earlier five-year stint from 2013; while 61-year old Shivakumar, who had earlier worked as Minister under Siddaramaiah, will also continue as the party's Karnataka state president till Parliamentary elections next year.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister and his Cabinet at Sree Kanteerava Stadium here, where Siddaramaiah had taken oath in 2013, when he became Chief Minister for the first time.
A look at the newly sworn-in Karnataka State Assembly Cabinet
I welcome all national leaders who have come here for the ceremony. All our promises will be fulfilled, says DK Shivakumar
Swearing-in ceremony ends with playing of National Anthem.
-- Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy has taken oath
-- Congress MLA BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan taking oath as cabinet minister
-- Congress MLA Satish Jarkiholi has taken oath
-- Congress MLA Priyank Kharge taking oath as cabinet minister
-- Congress MLA KJ George has taken oath
-- Congress MLA MB Patil taking oath as cabinet minister
-- Congress MLA Dr G Parameshwara has taken oath
-- Congress MLA KH Muniyappa taking oath as cabinet minister
