Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar to be sworn in as CM, Dy CM today, 8 legislators likely to take oath as Ministers

Siddaramaiah will be sworn in as Chief Minister for the second term along with state Congress President D K Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday afternoon exactly a week after the party swept the Assembly polls in KarnatakaAccording to sources in the Congress eight legislators are likely to be sworn in as Ministers along with themSiddaramaiah and Shivakumar were in Delhi till late Friday night discussing with the partys high command the names of ministers to be inducted into the new cabinet and the allocation of portfolios While the CMdesignate has returned to Bengaluru the KPCC chief is on his way backSources said those who are likely to be swornin as Ministers are G Parameshwara SC K H Muniyappa SC K J George MinorityChristian M B Patil Lingayat Satish Jarkiholi STValmiki Priyank Kharge SC and AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharges son Ramalinga Reddy Reddy and B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan MinorityMuslimAlso Read Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar in Delhi to discuss Cabinet formationCongress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has invited leaders of several likeminded parties for the swearingin ceremony which will see Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administering the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister and his Cabinet at 1230 PM at Sree Kanteerava Stadium hereThe venue is the same place where Siddaramaiah took oath in 2013 when he became Chief Minister for the first timeThe event may turn out to be a show of strength for opposition parties amid unity efforts to take on the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha electionsThe Congress on Thursday named Siddaramaiah as the next Chief Minister and Shivakumar a strong contender for the top post as his only deputy ending the tense deadlock after prolonged parleys involving its central leadershipA meeting of the Congress Legislature Party CLP later on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader and Chief Minister following which he staked his claim with the Governor who invited him to form the governmentThe 75year old Siddaramaiah will become the Chief Minister for the second term after his earlier fiveyear stint from 2013 while 61year old Shivakumar who had earlier worked as Minister under Siddaramaiah will also continue as the partys Karnataka state president till Parliamentary elections next yearThe first daunting task that Siddaramaiah is expected to face is putting in place a Cabinet with the right combinations that will strike a balance in having representatives from all communities regions factions and also from among the old and new generation of legislatorsWith the sanctioned strength of the Karnataka Cabinet being 34 there are too many aspirants for ministerial berthsKharge former Congress Presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi also General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi several Congress Chief Ministers and leaders are expected to attend the eventKharge has invited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav NCP chief Sharad Pawar former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray Invitations have also been sent to National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren among othersMany of them have arrived or have sent in representatives on their behalfExpectations are also that at the first cabinet meeting after the swearingin the new government might take measures to implement the five guaranteesThe Congress has promised to implement the guarantees 200 units of free power to all households Gruha Jyoti Rs 2000 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 Rs 3000 every month for graduate youth and Rs 1500 for diploma holders both in the age group of 1825 for two years YuvaNidhi and free travel for women in public transport buses Shakti on the very first day of assuming power in the stateFulfilling the promises made to the people is our first priority the Deputy Chief Ministerdesignate Shivakumar said on FridayElaborate security measures have been put in place in and around the venue to ensure that the event goes on smoothly without any hurdles amid the presence of several national level leaders and those from other states officials said adding that traffic movement will also have to be managed as the event will take place in the heart of the cityAccording to sources a total of three platforms stages have been set up and LED screens have been installed for people to watch the swearingin ceremony