Kumaraswamy meets Mayawati ahead of oath ceremony

Karnataka Chief Minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy on Monday met Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati at her residence in the national capital and invited her for his oath ceremony on Wednesday in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Kumaraswamy invited Mayawati for the swearing-in ceremony with a bouquet.

Later in the day, Kumaraswamy is expected to meet Congress President Rahul Gandhi. The two will discuss about the future of the Congress-JD-(S) alliance in Karnataka.

"Ashok Gehlot, KC Venugopal and I briefed Rahul Gandhi on recent political developments in Karnataka. When Kumaraswamy meets Rahul, they will decide on further strategy," said senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

On Saturday, 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 the state assembly.

While Kumaraswamy was earlier expected to swear-in as Karnataka Chief Minister on Monday, the ceremony later got pushed to May 23 due to the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi today.

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president, Chandrababu Naidu is also expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Kumaraswamy.