Hoardings and cutouts of JD(S) leader and chief minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders placed in front of the Vidhana Soudha before the swearing-in ceremony of JD(S) and Congress alliance, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)
JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy was sworn in as the Karnataka chief minister in the presence of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday. Hammering out a final deal on the 34-member Cabinet, the JD(S) and the Congress decided it will comprise 12 JD(S) ministers and 22 from the Congress. The post-poll partners also agreed to Dalit leader and state Congress president G Parameshwara as Deputy CM and Congress leader K R Ramesh as Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly. “The newly formed JD(S)-Congress coalition will take office Wednesday and names of the ministers in the Cabinet will be announced a day after the new government clears a trust vote on May 24, Kumaraswamy said Tuesday.
The initial disquiet over power-sharing got over after Kumaraswamy met alliance partners Sonia and Rahul on Monday evening, when both sides had agreed to “forget the past, look at the future and forge a long-term relationship”. The meeting was aimed at finalising the modalities of government formation and ministerial berth sharing between the post-poll allies.
Also Read | Karnataka govt formation: HD Kumaraswamy to take oath at 4.30 pm — All you need to know
Kumaraswamy swearing-in: JD(S) leader and Karnataka chief minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy with BSP supremo Mayawati at her residence, in New Delhi, on Monday. (PTI Photo)
Kumaraswamy is currently addressing the press, fresh after being administered the oath of office.
Click here to read what happened at the oath ceremony today
Congress' Dalit leader Parameshwara is being administered oath.
Kumaraswamy is being administered oath by Governor Vajubhai Vala.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairman Sonia Gandhi are last of the Opposition leaders to step on to the stage. Earlier, the crowd outside Karnataka Vidhana Soudha broke into a loud cheer when Congress leader Mallikharjun Kharge took the stage.
Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda takes the stage. He greets Akhilesh Yadav and other leaders. Kumaraswamy joins him next.
BSP supremo Mayawati is the next Opposition leader to join Akhilesh Yadav on stage. They warmly exchange pleasantries. They were then joined by former JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav.
The sky opens up again. Supporters bring out blue tarpaulin covers to protect themselves from the rain. While Some are seen shielding themselves with plastic chairs. Akhilesh Yadav appears to the first Opposition leader to arrive on the stage.
There was a brief spell of rain earlier in Bengaluru but it seems nothing can spoil the mood outside Vidhana Soudha today. The arrangements for the swearing-in are underway.
We cannot independently verify at the moment what Sonia and Rahul said in the meeting, but Congress' 78 MLAs must be lauded for resisting the temptation to defect after the fractured verdict. Congress strongman DK Shivkumar oversaw the arrangements to transport the lawmakers to a hotel in Hyderabad in a bid to keep the flock together. He is likely to get a plump portfolio for his efforts once Kumaraswamy proves his majority in the assembly.
With Dalit leader and state Congress president G Parameshwara being picked as the Deputy Chief Minister, there is still no word on who will be nominated to the post of the second deputy CM. Reports earlier suggested that the there would be two Dy CM posts -- one for Congress and other JD(S). It is still unclear whether there will a second deputy for Chief Minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy.
A sea of JD(S) supporters outnumber the Congress' outside the Vidhana Soudha. The crowd is still building up here in Bengaluru. Two huge TV screens have been erected behind the stage to display live visuals of the swearing-in.
BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa, who is leading the party's 'anti-mandate day' protests, called the swearing-in as a black day for Karnataka. Despite being rejected by the people, JD(S) and Congress entered into an unholy alliance to grab power, he said. "According to me they are not even going to continue for three months," Yeddyurappa told NDTV.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury attend a breakaway meeting, ahead of HD Kumaraswamy's swearing-in as Chief Minister of Karnataka.
#Karnataka: Heavy rain lashes parts of Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/sXUkiETysM— ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2018
Congress leader DK Shivakumar said, 'No one is unhappy, we all are together. We are celebrating that our government is coming in power. I never said that I'm an aspirant of Karnataka Chief Minister post. All is well.'
Sitaram Yechury, Sharad Pawar and Akhilesh Yadav arrive in Bengaluru to take part in the oath-taking ceremony of JD(S)leader HD Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu have reached Bengaluru. "We have come here to witness the swearing-in ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy and express our solidarity to him. In future, we'll work together to protect and promote the national interest. We are here to strengthen all regional parties," they said.
BJP observing 'Anti-People's Mandate Day' in Karnataka in view of the swearing-in ceremony of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government. BS Yeddyurappa says, "Hunger, greed and power is the basis of JD(S)-Congress alliance, such alliance will not even last 3 months."
Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said, "Shiv Sena had received invitation too (for HD Kumaraswamy's swearing-in ceremony), HD Deve Gowda ji invited Uddhav ji hoping someone from us would come but all of us are busy for Palghar Lok Sabha bye-Election. So we can't go but our best wishes are with him."
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused an early hearing to a petition moved by the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) challenging the upcoming oath-taking ceremony and appointment of H D Kumaraswamy as Karnataka Chief Minister. Read More
HD Kumaraswamy said, "All the promises made in the manifesto will be implemented. Safeguarding the interest of the farming community is our top priority."
Amit Shah also asked the Congress to explain to the people of Karnataka why they were celebrating even when most of their ministers had lost the election. “Only Congress and JD(S) are celebrating, people of Karnataka are not (celebrating),” he said.Taking a swipe at the rival party, Shah said the Congress has found a new way of portraying defeat as its victory, adding that he hopes this new definition of victory continues till 2019 as it will benefit the BJP.
Meanwhile, BJP chief Amit Shah, justifying the party’s bid to form the government in Karnataka, had said it would have been against the mandate of the southern state if they had not done it. “The mandate given by people of Karnataka was against Congress. There was no confusion about it. If we had not staked claim to form govt, it would have been against the mandate of Karnataka’s people,” Shah said while addressing a press conference in party office in New Delhi.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara, expressing his apprehensions about the difficulties that lie ahead of the coalition government in the state, said, “I do understand the sentiments of many people that we should not have gone with the JD(S). But there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power again in Karnataka. Keeping this in mind, our seniors took a decision to support the JD(S). We all must accept their decision,” he said.
“We may see difficult times ahead. We are visualising the challenges ahead, but we need to bear all the hardship to build a strong party,” the KPCC chief said.
Karnataka assembly polls, held on May 12, threw up a fractured verdict, with the BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the Karnataka polls winning 104 seats. However, the saffron party fell short of a simple majority. Kumaraswamy staked claim to the government immediately after BJP’s B S Yeddyurappa announced his resignation. He met Governor Vajubhai Vala on Saturday evening who invited the coalition to form the government in the state.
Kumaraswamy is expected to face the floor test in the state Assembly, within 24 hours of being sworn in. The MLAs of both the alliance partners, JD(S) and Congress, meanwhile, will stay confined to their hotels till the floor test.
Kumaraswamy assured the Congress leaders that he would provide good governance “without posing any problem to the Congress and its leaders”. He sought the blessings of Sonia who told him that he should discuss politics with Rahul and she could only give him her blessings.
The JD(S) leader drove to Rahul Gandhi’s Tughlaq Lane residence around 7 pm on Monday after his meeting with BSP chief Mayawati. Over coffee, Kumaraswamy told Rahul and Sonia Gandhi that the Congress-JD(S) pact should be a “long-term relationship”. Both leaders said the “coalition should run smoothly, with coordination”.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao called on HD Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy to offer his wishes and expressed his inability to attend the swearing-in ceremony. DMK working president MK Stalin, who was earlier scheduled to attend the ceremony, said on Tuesday that he would be unable to attend Kumaraswamy’s oath-taking ceremony due to the violence in Tuticorin that killed at least 11 people.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief ministers Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav will also attend the swearing-in ceremony with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Others on the guest list are Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah and MNM chief Kamal Haasan. Read More
The oath-taking ceremony for Kumaraswamy and Parameshwara Wednesday will have Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and party president Rahul Gandhi as prominent guests. The two Congress leaders are scheduled to meet the 78 Congress MLAs at the Hilton Hotel where they are housed to congratulate them for sticking together through the exercise of government formation.
According to sources in the JD(S), “There are not many concerns in the JDS about the appointment of ministers but there are concerns of dissidence in the Congress if ministers are picked before the trust vote.”
The top JD(S) leadership – H D Devegowda and Kumaraswamy – Tuesday denied reports of differences between the coalition partners on Congress MLAs like D K Shivakumar and M B Patil for ministerial posts. “We are not interfering in any way with the Congress’s choices. It is left to the Congress to decide who it wants in the ministry,” Devegowda said.
Venugopal said, "A coordination committee to deal with issues between the two coalition partners will also be constituted in two days."
“We had a meeting today to decide the cabinet formation of the government lead by Kumaraswamyji. We have taken 2-3 decisions. Out of 34 ministries, 22 will go to Congress including deputy chief minister and 12 will go to JD(S. With the Chief Minister, one deputy CM will also be sworn in tomorrow. Congress state president Parameshwara is the nominee to that post. The rest of the ministers and portfolios will be decided after the floor test,” said Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal after the meeting.
After initial disquiet over power-sharing, the newly formed JD(S)-Congress coalition will take office Wednesday and names of the ministers in the Cabinet will be announced a day after the new government clears a trust vote on May 24, Kumaraswamy said Tuesday.
A day before JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy is sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, his party and the Congress hammered out a final deal on the 34-member Cabinet which will comprise 12 JD(S) ministers and 22 from the Congress. The JD(S) also agreed to Dalit leader and state Congress president G Parameshwara as Deputy CM and Congress leader K R Ramesh as Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly. Read more
When asked that Roshan Baig and DK Shivakumar were also in the race for Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, Deputy CM designate G Parameshwara said, "It's the high command which decides all these, they chose me. I thank them immensely but the point is they are also eligible but they gave me this opportunity." (ANI)
Visuals of celebrations from outside HD Kumaraswamy's residence in Bengaluru. (ANI photo)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to observe the swearing-in ceremony of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government as 'Anti-People's Mandate Day' in the state on Wednesday, according to ANI. In a statement on Tuesday, the BJP termed the alliance between the Congress and the JD-S as an 'unholy' one, alleging that they "hijacked the people's mandate". BJP president for Karnataka, BS Yeddyurappa will lead the demonstrations in Bengaluru.
HD Kumaraswamy will take oath as Karnataka CM at 4:30 pm on Wednesday at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.
Welcome to our LIVE blog. JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy will be sworn in as the Karnataka chief minister in presence of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, today. Follow to get the latest updates.