Congress' support made me CM, not people's mandate: Kumaraswamy

Just four days after taking oath as chief minister of Karnataka, H.D. Kumaraswamy quoted controversy on Sunday after he asserted that he became chief minister due to Congress and not because of the people's mandate.

Kumaraswamy, while talking to media here, said he had asked for a clear mandate from the people but was now indebted to the Congress leaders.

"It is not my independent government. I asked the people of Karnataka for a clear mandate to do their bidding. But now, I am here indebted to the Congress leaders. I am not here because of mandate from state's 6 crore population," Kumaraswamy said.

He further shut down the people questioning his decision of forging an alliance with the Congress by saying that sometimes such decisions are compulsions in politics.

On May 23, Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal (Secular) was sworn-in as the 24th chief minister of Karnataka, marking the beginning of the JD(S)-Congress alliance in the state.

The Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance together with two independent candidates has 117 MLAs, six more than the simple-majority mark required to form a government in the state.