Congress leader Siddaramaiah today officially assumed the role of Chief Minister of Karnataka after taking the oath and completing the necessary procedures at a huge gathering in Bengaluru, where over 15,000 people had assembled.
Top Opposition leaders, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, CPI’s D Raja, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, PDP’s Mehbuba Mufti, Sharad Pawar from NCP, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, and actor-turned-politician Kamal Hasan, were in attendance in a symbolic display of Opposition unity against the BJP ahead of next year’s general elections.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, Telangana’s K Chandrashekar Rao, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were notably absent from the major event.
After his party’s resounding victory, Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar, who had been engaged in a heated contest with Siddaramaiah for the top position for a week, took the oath of office as the sole Deputy Chief Minister.
Eight newly elected MLAs with diverse representation, approved by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge this morning — G Parameshwara (SC), KH Muniyappa (SC), KJ George (Minority-Christian), MB Patil (Lingayat), Satish Jarkiholi (ST-Valmiki), Priyank Kharge (SC, and AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge’s son), Ramalinga Reddy (Reddy), and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan (Minority-Muslim) — are also taking the oath of office.
G Parameshwara is a former Deputy Chief Minister and state Home Minister. When the Congress won in 2013, he was the KPCC president. He represents the party’s SC (right) wing in South Karnataka.
KH Muniyappa, a former Union Minister and seven-term member of parliament, is a steadfast SC (left) face of the party.
Son of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyank Kharge is a prominent SC (right) leader and a four-time MLA.
The influential Jharkhioli family in Belagavi is where Satish Jarkiholi hails. He serves as the party’s ST face.
Ramalinga Reddy is an influential city leader for the party and an eight-term Bengaluru MLA.
KJ George is a former state Home Minister and a significant Congress figure in the city. He is one of the minority faces of the party.
BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan and Siddaramaiah are considered to be close. He represents another minority in the party and is from Bengaluru.
MB Patil was the Campaign Committee Chief. He is the party’s Lingayat representative and is from the Mumbai, Karnataka region.
At the swearing-in ceremony at Bengaluru’s Kanteerava Stadium, Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to the elected officials.
After serving as chief minister for five years, from 2013 to 2018, Siddaramaiah has been appointed chief minister once again. DK Shivakumar, 61, who previously served as a minister under Siddaramaiah, will also remain the party’s Karnataka state president until the conclusion of the parliamentary elections next year.
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