Karnataka: Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar Meet Governor Gehlot, Stake Claim To Form Govt; Oath Taking Ceremony On Saturday

Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar on Thursday (18 May) met Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to stake claim to form government in the state.

This comes after the Congress on Thursday announced that Siddaramaiah will be the new Karnataka Chief Minister, and state Congress chief D K Shivakumar will be the sole Deputy CM.

Following the meeting, the Governor invited CM-designate Siddaramaiah to take oath on Saturday.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, along with a few other ministers, will be sworn in to their new roles at Bengaluru's Kanteerava stadium on Saturday (20 May) at 12.30 pm, reports Hindustan Times.

Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah was unanimously elected as the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader in Karnataka.

Congress leaders RV Deshpande, HK Patil, MB Patil and Lakshmi Hebbalkar proposed Siddaramaiah’s name, reports ANI.

Shivakumar moved a resolution to elect Siddaramaiah as a new CLP leader, which was unanimously endorsed by all members.

The CLP meeting was held at the party office in Bengaluru after Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar returned from Delhi after days of deliberation for the chief ministerial face.

The decision on the next Karnataka Chief Minister came following days of hectic deliberations in Delhi after the newly-elected MLAs authorised party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to select the new CM.

Both Siddaramaiah, a former Chief Minister, and Shivakumar staked their claims to be chief minister after the party got 135 seats in the recently concluded Assembly elections.