Karnataka cabinet: G Parameshwara to be Deputy CM; floor test on May 24

Karnataka government formation: Congress' Karnataka state President G Parameshwara would be the Deputy Chief Minister and Congress's K R Ramesh Kumar would be the Speaker of Karnataka's Vidhana Soudha in the Janata Dal(Secular)-Congress coalition government, a party leader said on Tuesday. Parameshwara would take oath on Wednesday. 

Congress member K C Venugopal said, "Congress-JD(S) leaders met and discussed about the cabinet formation, out of 34 ministries, 22 ministries will go with Congress Party and 12 ministries, including CM will be with be with JD(S). Portfolio allocation to be decided after floor test."

A day ahead of his swearing-in, Karnataka Chief Minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday visited the Hindu holy towns of Dharmasthala and Sringeri to pray for the success of the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government. Kumaraswamy will take oath on Wednesday at 4:30 pm at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru. Governor Vajubhai Vala will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Kumaraswamy, according to a government release.

The swearing-in was earlier scheduled to be held on Monday but was later postponed as it coincided with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary.

JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy returned to the southern state after a day-long visit on Monday to Delhi to discuss government formation and ministerial berth sharing between the coalition partners with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Kumaraswamy had also met Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati in New Delhi and discussed plans of putting in place a Congress and JD(S) coalition government. The JD-S contested the Karnataka election in a pre-poll alliance with the BSP and later had a post-poll tie-up with the Congress.

ALSO READ: Karnataka: Kumaraswamy responds to Shah's 'unholy Cong-JD(S) alliance' jibe

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy has asked party cadres not to erect banners, flexi boards and burst crackers as they would harm the environment, a party official said, according to PTI.

Eminent politicians who will be attending Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in: United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijay, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejaswi Yadav, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M K Stalin.
 

Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to take the reins of power after the three-day Bharatiya Janata Party (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 election 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.

8:45 PM

Floor test to be held on on 24 May in Karnataka Vidhan Souhda. CM-designate H D Kumaraswamy to be sworn in tomorrow.

8:44 PM

"Tomorrow I have a Collector's conference in Hyderabad. So I thought I should meet Mr Kumaraswamy & extend my good wishes. Sometime later I will come but tomorrow I will not be there. Good luck to Mr Kumaraswamy, good luck to Karnataka," says Telangana CM Chandrashekar Rao

8:41 PM

"I am very happy. I am very delighted. Good luck! God bless Mr Kumaraswamy. With blessings of our former PM (HD Deve Gowda) he'll succeed. It's a beginning. Power of the regional parties is showing the future," says Telangana CM Chandrashekar Rao

8:10 PM

Congress-JDS leaders met and discussed about the cabinet formation, out of 34 ministries, 22 ministries will go with Congress Party and 12 ministries, including CM will be with be with JDS. Portfolio allocation to be decided after floor test, says Congress member K C Venugopal.

7:34 PM

7:33 PM

7:30 PM

"Today we took decision regarding the expansion (of the cabinet). Speaker and deputy speaker would be elected on 25 May. Portfolios would be decided day after tomorrow. Everything is alright, no differences", says Karnataka CM-designate H D Kumaraswamy

6:49 PM

I am not going to attend Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy's swearing in ceremony tomorrow. I cancelled it due to the incident which took place in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), says M K Stalin, DMK Working President

6:46 PM

High command will take call on appointment of Karnataka Deputy CM, says Shivakumar

Amid speculations surrounding the choice for deputy chief minister in Karnataka, the top contender and senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the decision would be taken by the Congress high command, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
 

"I don't want to show my strength. I don't want to show my numbers. I have faith in Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. We all believe in one man resolution, that is the party high command. They will take a call on who has to be what," Shivakumar told ANI.
 

Shivakumar remarked that both sides had to overcome their personal issues for the alliance, which was made in general interest
 

"We had a lot of bitter experiences but the situation has changed now. When Rahul ji has taken a decision to have a secular government, we have to sacrifice, we have to swallow a lot of things and for the betterment of the state, the community and the country, we should not have our personal aspirations," he said.

6:44 PM

Deve Gowda says he is not opposed to Shivakumar being made a minister

JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda today dismissed reports that he was opposed to senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar's induction into the JD(S)-Congress coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy that will take oath tomorrow.
 

Noting that it was for the Congress to decide who from their party should be made deputy chief minister or minister, the former prime minister said he was only interested in the smooth functioning of the government.
 

"I have heard media reports that I am against D K Shivakumar's induction into the ministry. I want to clarify that who should be made chief minister, deputy chief minister, who should be given what portfolio from the Congress... I will not interfere on this issue," Gowda said.
 

"What I want is smooth functioning of this government. Other than that I will not be interfering into any other thing," he said.

5:14 PM

With Janata Dal's (Secular) H.D. Kumaraswamy all set to take oath as the Karnataka Chief Minister on May 23, Congress is likely to have its own MLA as the speaker of the state assembly, according to sources.

The local leaders participating in the negotiations will most likely announce the name by Tuesday evening.

5:04 PM

Speaker for Karnataka Assembly will be from Congress. Name likely to be announced by evening by local leaders, says sources, according to ANI

5:02 PM

"What is wrong in it? Why not? If people from other communities can make demands then why can't people from my community? But, in the end high command will decide," says R Roshan Baig, Congress MLA on Muslim organisations demanding that he be made Deputy CM

A group of Muslim organisations brief media, demand that either 7-time Congress MLA Roshan Baig or some other leader from muslim community be made the Deputy CM in the new government in Karnataka.

5:01 PM

D K Shivakumar on issue of Deputy CM: "I don't want to show my strength. I don't want to show my numbers. I have faith in Rahul Gandhi & Sonia Gandhi. We all believe in one man resolution,that is the party high command. They will take a call on who has to be what."

4:58 PM

Most of the leaders, other than BJP leaders, will attend oath taking ceremony tomorrow. Rahul Ji, Ghulam Nabi Aazad, Maywati Ji, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Chandrababu Naidu, Stalin, several people are coming, says Karnataka Chief Minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy