Kumaraswamy swears in as Karnataka CM in a complete show of opposition unity
Bengaluru, May 23 (IBNS): Amid a bonhomous display of anti-BJP unity by disparate Opposition leaders, HD Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal (Secular) installed the Congress-JDS coalition government in Karnataka here, taking oath as the Chief Minister of the southern state on Wednesday.
Along with Kumaraswamy, who succeeded Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strong man BS Yeddyurappa as the CM, Congress' G Parameshwara took oath as the Deputy CM of the state.
The Congress will get 22 ministries compared to 12 for JD(S).
Congress lawmaker KR Ramesh Kumar will be the Speaker of the Vidhan Soudha.
In a bid to form the opposition unity ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls, several anti-BJP political party leaders were present in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
In a rare picture, the arch-rivals- Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee and CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury- were captured standing on the same platform as greeting each other.
Other opposition leaders like Congress president Rahul Gandhi, United Progressive Allaince (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telegu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar were also present at the oath-taking ceremony.
The Congress and the JD(S) formed the government after a week-long political drama, which occurred after the Karnataka polls results.
While the Karnataka people gave a fractured mandate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which emerged as a single largest party with 104 seats, was invited to form the government by Governor Vajubhai Vala amid controversy.
However, the Congress and the JD(S) combine claimed to have the simple majority (113) with the support of 117 lawmakers.
The political tussle reached the judiciary with the Congress-JD(S) moving the Supreme Court to stall BJP's strongman BS Yeddyurappa's swearing-in as the CM.
Though the swearing-in ceremony could not be stopped, the top court slashed the 15-day period, which was given by the Governor to the BJP to prove majority, to little more than 24 hours.
Even before the floor test began, Yeddyurappa resigned as the BJP failed to secure a simple majority. With two seats yet to be polled, BJP would have required the support of 111 MLAs for the time being to form the state government.
Meanwhile, the BJP had boycotted the swearing-in ceremony making allegations that the Congress-JD(S) formed the Karnataka government against the people's mandate.
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