A Grand Show Of Opposition Unity At Karnataka CM’s Swearing-In-Ceremony

Siddaramaiah would be sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka on May 20, 12.30 pm. Along with his D K Shivakumar would take over as his deputy.

In 2018, the BJP fell short of a majority, following which the Congress and JD(S) formed the government. The leaders put up a show of unity and many opposition leaders had been invited. This time too it is no different and a host of leaders have been invited for the swearing-in-ceremomy which will take place at the Kanteerva stadium in Bengaluru.

The Congress has sent invitations to Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray.

Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik have also been invited.

From the Congress party, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu have got invites. The two former chiefs of the party, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi too will be present.

A day after the elections, TMC chief, Mamata Banerjee had said that she is ready to extend her support to the Congress, but the party too would have to reciprocate.

The opposition is looking to put up a united front ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP.

The Karnataka Congress finally came to an agreement whereby Siddaramaiah would be the CM and Shivakumar his deputy. While there is a lot of talk about a term sharing arrangement, source have said that it would largely depend on the outcome of the 2024 elections. Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats up for grabs and the BJP currently holds 26 of them.