JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, RJD's de-facto chief Tejashwi Yadav, former J&K CMs Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, NCP president Sharad Pawar, CPI(M) chief Sitaram Yechury and actor-politician Kamal Haasan were among the Opposition leaders who attended the grand oath-taking event in Bengaluru on May 20.
After four days of uncertainty, Congress is set to announce Siddaramaih as the chief minister of Karnataka and DK Shivakumar as the deputy chief minister of the state. The swearing-in ceremony will take place on May 20.
A ninth-time MLA, Siddaramaiah is an untainted leader, known for his populist schemes and efforts to consolidate the votes of minorities, backward classes and Dalits.
Enjoys support of majority of the party MLAs, chosen CM following days of intense deliberations & intervention of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and former Congress chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi; KPCC president DK Shivakumar, who too was angling for the top job, to be deputy CM
Results of the assembly polls were declared on May 13 and the 135 MLA-elects of the Congress on May 14 authorised party's national president Mallikarjun Kharge to take the final call on the appointment of the next CM. With the action shifting to Delhi, both the top aspirants - Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar have reached the national capital.
Siddaramaiah, 75, was the state's chief minister from 2013 to 2018, and was the leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly.
India's opposition Congress party won power in a key state on May 13, partial election results showed, defeating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP a year ahead of national polls. It ousted Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from office in Karnataka, the only southern state controlled by the Hindu nationalist grouping.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the priority of the Congress was to serve the people of the state, irrespective of who voted for the party and who did not.
The build-up on Hindutva issues like hijab, halal, ban on Muslim traders, began early last year, while the reservation policy was hurriedly changed and put out this year to appeal to Lingayats, Vokkaligas, and Dalits. Neither strategy managed to convince voters.
Karnataka Assembly Election Results Highlights: Chief Minister to be sworn in on Thursday, says Congress