Mallikarjun Kharge’s son among 8 Karnataka Congress MLAs promoted as minister in Siddaramaiah cabinet

Bengaluru: Exactly a week after the party’s resounding victory in the Karnataka assembly elections, Siddaramaiah will take oath as chief minister for a second term on Saturday afternoon with state Congress president DK Shivakumar as his deputy. According to Congress sources, eight MLAs are likely to take oath as ministers along with him.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were in Delhi till late Friday night discussing with the party high command the names of ministers to be inducted in the new cabinet and allocation of portfolios. While the CM-designate has returned to Bengaluru, the KPCC chief is on the way back. Sources said those who took oath as ministers include G Parameshwara (SC), KH Muniyappa (SC), KJ George (Minority-Christian), MB Patil (Lingayat), Satish Jarkiholi (ST-Valmiki), Priyank. Kharge (SC and son of AICC President M Mallikarjuna Kharge), Ramalinga Reddy (Reddy), and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan (minority-Muslim).

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has invited leaders of several like-minded parties for the swearing-in ceremony, which will see Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administer the oath of office and secrecy to the chief minister and his cabinet at 12.30 pm at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here. This is the same place where Siddaramaiah took oath in 2013, when he became the chief minister for the first time.

The event could take the form of a show of strength for the opposition parties amid efforts for unity to take on the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress on Thursday named Siddaramaiah as the next chief minister and Shivakumar, a frontrunner for the top post, as his sole deputy.

A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader and chief minister, after which he staked his claim to the governor, who invited him to form the government. Siddaramaiah, 75, will be serving as chief minister for a second term after his first five-year term since 2013; While 61-year-old Shivakumar, who had earlier served as a minister under Siddaramaiah, will also continue as the party’s Karnataka state president till the parliamentary elections next year.

The first challenging task facing Siddaramaiah is to set up a cabinet with the right combination that will strike a balance between representatives of all communities, regions, factions and the old and new generation of legislators. With the sanctioned strength of the Karnataka cabinet being 34, there are a lot of aspirants for ministerial posts.

Kharge, former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, several Congress chief ministers and leaders are expected to attend the event. Kharge has invited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK 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 others.

Many of them have come or have sent their representatives. There are also hopes that in the first cabinet meeting after taking oath, the new government may take steps to implement the five ‘guarantees’. The Congress has promised to implement ‘guarantees’ – 200 units of free electricity to all households (Griha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the female head of every household (Griha Lakshmi), 10 kg rice free to each member of a BPL family (Griha Laxmi). Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 per month for graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders (both in the 18-25 age group) for two years (Yuvanidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti) across the state On the very first day of assuming office.

“Our first priority is to fulfill the promises made to the people,” Deputy Chief Minister-designate Shivakumar said on Friday. Elaborate security arrangements have been made in and around the venue to ensure that the event goes smoothly without any hindrance amid the presence of several national level leaders and people from other states, officials said. As managed the event will take place in the heart of the city.

According to sources, a total of three platforms/stages have been made for people to watch the swearing-in ceremony and LED screens have been installed.