Karnataka govt formation: Within 24 hours of oath taking, Kumaraswamy to prove majority

A day after BJP's BS Yeddyurappa resigned before the floor test took place, the new chief minister-designate JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy confirmed that he'll be meeting Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday.

Speaking to ANI, Kumarswami said,''Yes, tomorrow morning I'm going to Delhi. I'll meet Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Just 24 hours after the oath, I'll prove the majority."

Meanwhile, the Congress is still keeping its MLAs at a resort outside Bengaluru, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is planning to wrap up the floor test within 24 hours of taking oath on Wednesday.

Kumaraswamy's swearing-in as chief minister was initially scheduled for Monday, but the JD(S) leader pushed the ceremony to Wednesday since Monday happens to be the 27th death anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The newly-formed JD(S)-Congress alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221. While polling in two constituencies is yet to be held, the Ramanagara seat has fallen vacant after Kumaraswamy resigned from it and chose to retain Channapatna instead.

Kumaraswamy will be the second CM in Karnataka within a span of one week after Assembly elections threw up a hung verdict. Yeddyurappa's three-day-old government collapsed on Saturday when the BJP leader resigned in anti-climax to the floor test.