Karnataka CM-elect Siddaramaiah and his prospective deputy, D K Shivakumar, were given permission by the Congress high command to choose 10 candidates each for a potential 29- to 30-member ministry on Friday, laying the groundwork for the new state government’s operations. The new state government will be sworn in on Saturday in front of party leaders, the CMs of four UPA allies, and a representative of the newly-found TMC.
10 candidates are to be given to Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar
After Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar returned to the nation’s capital from Bengaluru to make their selections, the shortlist for the cabinet was created in New Delhi. Out of a sanctioned strength of 34, the high command reportedly chose the remaining 4, an insider claimed.
According to the official guest list, UPA chair Sonia Gandhi, AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge, and the Gandhi siblings Rahul and Priyanka will all attend the swearing-in ceremony at Bengaluru’s Kanteerava Stadium. Also attending the ceremony will be Bihar’s counterpart, Nitish Kumar, the Tamil Nadu chief minister, M K Stalin, and Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren. Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, the vice CM of Bihar, will also be present.
Siddaramaiah responds to Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee
Siddaramaiah called Bengal CM and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee to extend an invitation after she suggested an electoral trade with Congress “in its strongholds and ours” two days after the Karnataka verdict. She stated that she was unable to attend but appointed MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar to attend the swearing-in instead. Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the SP and former CM of UP, who this week sided with Mamata, is also invited.
Inviting “only CMs of Congress-governed states and UPA partners,” according to Karnataka Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain, automatically excludes Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik, Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal, K Chandrashekar Rao of Telangana, and Andhra CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. In an effort to explain how Mamata made it onto the list, Hussain stated that he was not aware of any invites “privately” sent by anyone from within the Congress brass.
CMs from different states are to be present at the oath ceremony
Rajasthan’s Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel, and Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu will all be present as Congress chief ministers. Actor Shivaraj Kumar from Kannada, who supported the Congress, is anticipated at the gathering.
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NCP leader Sharad Pawar, former chief minister of Maharashtra Udhhav Thackeray, NC leader Farooq Abdullah, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechuri, and CPI leader D Raja were also invited to the swearing-in.
The venue, which can hold around 25,000 people in seats, is expected to hold about 60,000 people, according to Congress.
