Karnataka CM swearing-in ceremony: Congress veteran leader Siddharamairah will take oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on Saturday at 12:30pm for the second term. Karnatana Congress president DK Shivkumar will also take oath as his deputy.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the CM and his cabinet members during swearing-in ceremony which is organised at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. According to the party sources, eight members of the party will be sworn-in as minister on the occasion.

Congress has invited many leaders at the event. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said it is really a matter of delight that a strong and a new Congress government has come to power in Karnataka. Many leaders and known personalities will join the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday.

Congress president Kharge said, “Today is the swearing-in ceremony of the CM, Deputy CM, and eight MLAs who will take oath as the ministers (in the state cabinet), everyone is attending it. I am going for the same. It is a matter of delight that a new and strong Congress government has come to power in Karnataka. This will benefit Karnataka and it is creating a good environment in the country.”

After many meetings, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Thursday made the announcement at the party headquarters in the national capital that party leader Siddaramaiah will be the next Karnataka Chief Minister and DK Shivakumar will be Deputy Chief Minister.

Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar met Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday evening ahead of the oath-taking ceremony in Karnataka.

Shivakumar told the reporters, “We have come to meet our leaders, Rahul Ji, Sonia Ji, Priyanka Ji, and Kharge Ji to invite our leaders for tomorrow. They had come and given their sweat and proper directions. So, I wanted to invite them personally. Later, we are discussing the cabinet formation.”

According to the sources, the invitation has been sent to like-minded opposition parties and their leaders including Hemant Soren, Sitaram Yechuri, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.