Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar To Take Oath As Karnataka New Ministers

Karnataka is seeing a swearing-in ceremony today as 8 MLAs are taking oath as new ministers along with new CM Siddaramaiah and new deputy CM DK Shivakumar.

The much-anticipated swearing-in ceremony of Siddaramaiah as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka and DK Shivakumar as his deputy took place at the Kanteerava stadium in Bengaluru. 

The ceremony, held on May 20, saw the participation of several prominent Congress leaders and witnessed the oath-taking of eight Congress MLAs as ministers in the Karnataka Cabinet.

The ceremony commenced at 12:30 PM, with Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar being administered the oath of secrecy by Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot. 

Alongside them, the following 8 Congress MLAs also took the oath as ministers:

1. Dr G Parameshwara
2. KH Muniyappa
3. KJ George
4. MB Patil
5. Satish Jarkiholi
6. Priyank Kharge
7. Ramalinga Reddy
8. BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan

The announcement of the cabinet ministers was made in a letter by K.C. Venugopal, the General Secretary (Organisation) of the Congress party. 

The event was attended by a large number of party workers and leaders, with over a lakh people estimated to have witnessed the ceremony. 

Prominent figures will present included Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra, Mallikarjun Kharge, and other Opposition and Congress leaders.

The swearing-in ceremony holds significance not only as the formal recruitment of the new Chief Minister and deputy Chief Minister but also as a display of strength for the Opposition parties in their preparation for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. 

The Congress party emerged victorious in the Karnataka Assembly elections, securing 135 out of 224 seats, while the BJP and JD(S) were reduced to 66 and 19 seats, respectively.

The swearing event marks the beginning of a new government in Karnataka led by Siddaramaiah, who previously served as Karnataka Chief Minister from 2013 to 2018.