Kumaraswamy to take oath as CM at 4.30 pm

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy will take oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka on May 23 at 4.30 pm on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat.

Governor Vajubhai Vala will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Kumaraswamy, a government release said.

Kumaraswamy will visit Dharmashala and Sringeri tomorrow to seek the blessings of Lord Manjunath, Sringeri Sharada Devi and the present Shankaracharya Sri Bharati Teertha, the release said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today confirmed his presence at the swearing-in ceremony of Kumaraswamy as Karnataka chief minister.

Chief Ministers of non-BJP states and head of regional parties, including West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party Mayawati, are also expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Kumaraswamy, who is in New Delhi, met Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to finalise the modalities of government formation and ministerial berth sharing between the two post-poll allies.

The JDS leader, who will be sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday for the second time in 12 years, arrived in Delhi this afternoon and began his engagements with a meeting with pre-poll ally BSP chief Mayawati.

Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to take the reins of power after the three-day BJP government collapsed last Saturday with B S Yeddyurappa, unable to muster the required number for a majority, stepping down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung verdict with BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats.

The Congress was next with 78 and the JD(S) followed with 37. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents.