Karnataka Election Results: JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will take oath as chief minister tomorrow.
Janata Dal Secular leader HD Kumaraswamy will take oath as chief minister tomorrow. He said this evening that G Parameshwara of the Congress will be the Deputy Chief Minister. Mr Kumaraswamy's swearing-in ceremony is likely to showcase opposition unity against the BJP, with a number of leaders from regional and national parties confirming their attendance for the event.
On Monday, Mr Kumaraswamy flew to Delhi to meet Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi to discuss the terms for alliance in Karnataka. The Congress indicated that the two sides have discussed a broader alliance that's beyond "power sharing in Karnataka" ahead of next year's general elections.
Wednesday's oath ceremony is expected to be a show of opposition strength, with Mr Kumaraswamy inviting at least four chief ministers, and senior leaders from key opposition parties. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Andhra Pradesh's N Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana's K Chandrashekar Rao and Bengal's Mamata Banerjee will be present.
Here are the Highlights Karnataka government formation:
KCR To Skip Karnataka Swearing-In, Meets Kumaraswamy A Day BeforeTelangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao --- or KCR as he is popularly known --- will skip the oath ceremony but flew down to Bengaluru this evening to meet Mr Kumaraswamy and will return tonight. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, a former ally of the BJP who was personally invited by JDS supremo and Mr Kumaraswamy's father HD Deve Gowda, will also stay away.
"I am very happy. I am very delighted. Good luck! God bless Mr Kumaraswamy. With blessings of our former PM (HD Deve Gowda) he'll succeed. It's a beginning. Power of the regional parties is showing the future," says K Chandrashekar Rao.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao meets HD Deve Gowda and Karnataka Chief Minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru.
G Parameshwara to be Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, says HD Kumaraswamy
Here's what the invite to HD Kumaraswamy's swearing-in looks like:
With Leaders of 12 Parties, Kumaraswamy Turns Oath Into Opposition MeetMore than a dozen opposition leaders will be attending the oath ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy, who takes over as the Karnataka Chief Minister tomorrow, pending a floor test. The mega gathering is seen as a show of strength by the opposition, which is yet to put forth a cohesive effort to stitch up a united front to take on the BJP in next year's general elections.
Giant screen being put together at the venue
Workers erecting a stage for the oath ceremony
Preparations under way at Vidhana Soudha for Mr Kumaraswamy's swearing-in
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to visit Bengaluru todayTelangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao would visit Bengaluru today to congratulate Mr Kumaraswamy, his office said.
Mr Rao had recently met JD(S) chief and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and Mr Kumaraswamy to promote his proposal of forging a non-Congress, non-BJP federal front at the national level.
He had also announced his support to the JD(S) for the Karnataka Assembly polls.
Mr Kumaraswamy is heading back to Bangalore from his temple visits. He is expected to have a series of meetings ahead of tomorrow's swearing in.
Congress has falsely claimed that Yeddyurappa ji sought 7 days from the Governor to prove majority. Had it been the case, Congress should have asked for copy of the letter from him. The Congress party's lawyer lied in the Court : Amit Shah
Speaker for Karnataka Assembly will be from Congress. Name likely to be announced by evening by local leaders, news agency ANI reports.
BS Yeddyurappa writes to the Election Commission over the finding of VVPAT covers at Vijayapura
Resignations of BS Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu from the Lok Sabha have been accepted. They had resigned as Lok Sabha members on Saturday after taking oath as the MLAs of the newly-constituted state Legislative Assembly.
Mr Yeddyurappa represented Shivamogga parliamentary segment in the Malnad region, about 300 kilometres from Bengaluru. Mr Sreeramulu was representing the Ballari (reserved) segment from the state's northern region.
JD(S) lawmakers have been kept at the Devanahalli resort. The lawmakers will camp at the resort till Mr Kumaraswamy proves majority in the assembly.
Siddaramaiah arrives at Hilton hotel to meet Congress lawmakers.
Our first objective is speaker's election, vote of confidence the next. Other things will be discussed only after these two are sorted: Mallikarjun Kharge
DK Shivakumar has claimed credit with holding the Congress lawmakers' flock together amid attempts to bribe, threaten or induce them to cross over to the BJP before BS Yeddyurappa's floor test on Saturday. Mr Shivakumar was able to bring back two lawmakers who, he claimed, were being forcibly held by the BJP. Asked whether he would be rewarded, Mr Shivakumar said, "You ask my party leaders what dues I'll get".
Congress' senior state leader KC Venugopal said his party will get the post of the speaker. "We haven't agreed on Deputy Chief Minister. We have asked the two state units to work this out and even the power sharing formula," Mr Venugopal added.
The Congress and the JD(S) appear to be at odds over the post of deputy chief minister - the Congress wants two but Mr Kumaraswamy's party won't have more than one, sources said.
The Congress wants to appoint one Lingayat candidate and one Dalit as Mr Kumaraswamy's deputies, but that is not acceptable to the JD(S), sources say. DK Shivakumar and MB Patil are among those in the race for the proposed second post.
Around 11 am, Congress leaders will meet party lawmakers at Hilton Hotel to discuss on the post of Deputy Chief Minister.
Senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar said he had to swallow some "bitterness" to join hands with JD(S) to form a secular government in Karnataka even though he had fought many election battles against his bete noire H D Deve Gowda and his relatives.
Mr Shivakumar said he has been fighting the Gowdas since 1985.
"I had lost to the senior Gowda in parliament election. Won against his son and his daughter-in-law. Lot of politics had been played. Lot of cases I faced, but in the interest of the party and nation, we have to bring a secular government here. It was Rahul Gandhi's decision," he said.
It was an extremely cordial and warm meeting. HD Kumaraswamy sought blessings from Sonia Gandhi as an elder and head of the family. He thanked Rahul Gandhi for taking steps to form the coalition and offering CM's post to him despite Congress having the larger numbers: Randeep Surjewala
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Andhra Pradesh's N Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana's K Chandrashekar Rao and Bengal's Mamata Banerjee have confirmed their attendance for the oath ceremony.
Wednesday's oath ceremony is expected to be a show of opposition strength, with Mr Kumaraswamy inviting at least four chief ministers, and senior leaders from key opposition parties. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Andhra Pradesh's N Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana's K Chandrashekar Rao and Bengal's Mamata Banerjee will be present.
Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the BJP, the single largest party with 104 seats, to form the government though the JD(S)- Congress combine that commanded a majority, had staked claim to form government.