Congress may settle for one deputy CM only

It is almost certain that there would be only one deputy to H D Kumaraswamy. The Congress which has been demanding two deputy chief minsters is set to settle for one at least for the time-being.

The Congress had proposed the name of a Dalit and Lingayat MLA for the post of two deputy chief ministers. However the JD(S) was opposed to the idea and said that at best one could be accommodated.

H D Kumaraswamy who had met with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi held discussions at length on the government formation. During the meeting it was however agreed that the Congress would get to keep the post of Speaker. This was however demanded by the JD(S) at first, but following the intervention of Rahul Gandhi, the party decided to give up the demand.

On Wednesday, Kumaraswamy will be taking oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka at a grand ceremony outside the Vidhan Soudha at 4.30 pm. He had earlier said that he would not be the only one taking oath. He did not however indicate whether a deputy CM would be taking oath with him. From what he said it appeared as though a few MLAs will be taking oath. He is scheduled to hold discussions with the Congress and then take a final call on the matter. He however added that no minister's name had been finalised as yet.

The Congress is likely to finalise the name of KPCC chief, Dr. G Parameshwara for the post of deputy CM. However the likes of M B Patil have been demanding that the post goes to a candidate from north Karnataka, where the party fared badly in the recently concluded elections.