Rahul to attend Kumaraswamy's swearing-in

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday confirmed that he will be attending the swearing-in of Karnataka's chief minister-elect HD Kumaraswamy on May 23.

Taking to his Twitter handle, the Congress Chief wrote, "I will be attending his (HD Kumaraswamy) swearing-in as CM of Karnataka on Wednesday, in Bengaluru."

Speaking about his meeting with the JD(S) leader in the national capital earlier today, the Congress President said the duo spoke about the political situation in Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest.

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy said he visited New Delhi to express his gratitude to the Gandhi family and invite them for his swearing-in ceremony. He further informed that both Rahul and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi have confirmed their presence for the same.

"I wanted to show my respect and regards to the Gandhi family. That is why I came here (Delhi). I requested their presence in my oath-taking ceremony. Both of them agreed to be present," said the JD(S) leader.

The ceremony will witnesses a gathering of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief ministers and chiefs of opposition parties.

Among those attending the ceremony are Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Puducherry Chief Minister Narayanasamy, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.

Apart from this, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati will also mark their presence on the occasion.

Kumaraswamy has also invited Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury to attend his swearing-in.

On Saturday, Kumaraswamy was invited by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala to form the government in the state, after BJP's B.S. Yeddyurappa stepped down as chief minister, ahead of the floor test that was to be conducted in the state assembly.

While the swearing-in of the chief minister-designate was scheduled for Monday, the ceremony was eventually postponed to Wednesday on account of the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.