Karnataka: Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar in Delhi to finalise Cabinet formation

Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar arrived in the national capital on Friday (May 19) to discuss with the Congress high command the names of ministers to be inducted into the new cabinet and the allocation of portfolios.

They will also invite the party’s top brass for the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday (May 20).

A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday (May 18) formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader, following which he staked his claim with the Governor, who invited him to form the government.

Swearing-in ceremony on May 20

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar will take the oath as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively along with a few Ministers at 12.30 pm on Saturday (May 20) at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

“Siddaramaiah, Randeep Singh Surjewala (AICC General Secretary), and I will be going to Delhi, we will meet Mallikarjun Kharge (AICC President) to discuss the first stage of cabinet expansion and decide about it,” Shivakumar said, before leaving for the national capital.

Also read: Picked as CLP leader, Siddaramaiah rushes to meet Governor, stakes claim to form govt

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, in response to a question, he said, “Fulfilling the promises made to the people is our first priority. Cabinet, people, all those things we will let you know later, we will not do anything leaving you (media), there is no need for any speculation. We will work unitedly.”

The first challenge that Siddaramaiah is expected to face is putting in place a Cabinet with the right combination that will strike a balance in having representatives from all communities, regions, factions, and also from among the old and new generation of legislators.

With the sanctioned strength of the Karnataka Cabinet being 34, there are too many aspirants for ministerial berths.

All campaign guarantees will be implemented on the first day: Shivakumar

Stating that the voice of the people will be the voice of the government of Karnataka, Shivakumar said, “All our national leaders are coming (for the swearing-in ceremony). On the first day in the first cabinet we will implement all our guarantees, we will keep up our promise.”

Several national leaders have been invited for the swearing-in ceremony and most of them are coming, he said, as he invited party workers and supporters across the state to the venue, and asked them to be there much ahead of the scheduled time, to ensure that there is no traffic-related problem or any other difficulties.

Also read: Karnataka: Stalin, KCR, Mamata, Naveen, Akhilesh among invitees to May 20 swearing-in

Shivakumar also invited leaders of the BJP and JD(S) for the event, stating that as public representatives, they too are part of the government machinery.

The DCM-designate also visited Kanteerava Stadium, the venue of the swearing-in ceremony, and inspected the preparations there.

Asked whether the guarantees would be with or without conditions, Shivakumar said, “I won’t say anything now, we will inform you once we decide. We will walk the talk.”

“They are not Shivakumar’s or Siddaramaiah’s guarantees, they are Congress party’s guarantees,” he added.

The five Congress guarantees in Karnataka

The Congress has promised to implement the guarantees – 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), ₹2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), ₹3,000 every month for graduate youth and ₹1,500 for diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti) – on the very first day of assuming power in the state.

(With agency inputs)