K'taka Assembly Speaker to be from Congress: Sources

With Janata Dal's (Secular) H.D. Kumaraswamy all set to take oath as the Karnataka Chief Minister on May 23, Congress is likely to have its own MLA as the speaker of the state assembly, according to sources.

The local leaders participating in the negotiations will most likely announce the name by Tuesday evening.

On May 19, Kumaraswamy was invited by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala to form the government in the state, after Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) B.S. Yeddyurappa stepped down ahead of the floor test in Karnataka assembly.

The floor test was to be conducted on the instructions of Vala after the Congress-JD (S) alliance also staked claim to form the government in the state on the basis of their combined strength of 115 MLAs as compared to the 104 seats of the BJP, which was seven short of majority mark of 111.

While Kumaraswamy's swearing-in was earlier expected to take place on Monday, however, it got pushed to May 23 due to the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Among the confirmed attendees are United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.