Kumaraswamy May Have Two Deputies, Will Take Oath Alone, Says Congress

New Delhi/Bengaluru: Karnataka may have not one, but two deputy chief ministers, state Congress chief G Parameshwara has said. The final call will be taken by the Central leadership, whom HD Kumaraswamy, the Chief Minister of the alliance will meet today.

The leader of the regional party Janata Dal Secular will take oath on Wednesday - alone, said senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar. The rest of his cabinet is likely to take oath only after the trust vote, which is likely to be held on Wednesday.

Under the last-minute deal between the Congress and the JD(S) on the day of vote counting, the Congress will choose a Deputy Chief Minister -- a post that's likely to be filled by Mr Parameshwara. Leaders of the JD(S), however, did not rule out the possibility of two Deputy Chief Ministers to strike a balance between the two parties.

Ahead of the meeting with Rahul and Sonia Gandhi on Monday afternoon, Mr Kumaraswamy is likely to make a detour to Tirumala, to seek blessings of Lord Balaji at the famous temple of Tirupati.

On Saturday night, in a key meeting, the Congress and the JD(S) finalised the details of power sharing. The Congress, which won 78 seats in comparison to Mr Kumaraswamy's party's 38, will get the lion's share of the ministries, although the portfolios are yet to be worked out.
 Mr Kumaraswamy told NDTV that the two parties will also draw up a Common Minimum Programme to earmark the key governance issues of the southern state. Both sides have also agreed to constitute a coalition coordination committee.

The BJP, whose government headed by BS Yeddyurappa had to resign for want of majority, ahead of the trust vote on Saturday, says the state could witness elections soon. Party lawmaker Anand Kumar said, "We would come out stronger in the elections. Only the BJP was given the mandate, but the Congress has entered into an opportunistic unholy alliance".

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.

But BS Yeddyurappa, who took over as Chief Minister, resigned on the third day, ahead of the trust vote. The Governor had controversially given him 15 days to prove majority, triggering allegations of poaching. But the Supreme Court, in response to a petition by the Congress against the Governor's decision, had directed him to take the floor test within 24 hours.