Siddaramaiah Sworn In As Karnataka Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar His Deputy

Congress leader Siddaramaiah today formally took charge as Karnataka’s new Chief Minister after taking oath and completing formalities at a massive event in Bengaluru where around 15,000 supporters had gathered. Top Opposition leaders, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, CPI’s D Raja, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, PDP’s Mehbuba Mufti, Sharad Pawar from NCP, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, and actor-turned politician Kamal Haasan, were in attendance in a symbolic display of Opposition unity against the BJP ahead of next year’s general elections. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, Telangana’s K Chandrashekar Rao, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav were conspicuous by their absence from the mega event.Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar, who was locked in a dramatic battle with Siddaramaiah for the top job for a week after his party’s emphatic win, took oath as the solo Deputy Chief Minister.Eight newly elected MLAs with diverse representation, approved by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge this morning — G Parameshwara (SC), KH Muniyappa (SC), KJ George (Minority-Christian), MB Patil (Lingayat), Satish Jarkiholi (ST-Valmiki), Priyank Kharge (SC, and AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge’s son), Ramalinga Reddy (Reddy), and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan (Minority-Muslim) — are also taking the oath of office.G Parameshwara is a former Deputy Chief Minister and state Home Minister. He was KPCC president in 2013 when Congress won. He is the SC (right) face of the party in South Karnataka. KH Muniyappa is a seven-time MP, former Union Minister, and a strong SC (left) face of the party. Priyank Kharge, son of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, is a four-time MLA and a top SC (right) leader.Satish Jarkiholi belongs to the powerful Jharkhioli family in Belagavi. He is also the ST face of the party.Ramalinga Reddy is an eight-time MLA from Bengaluru and a powerful city face of the party.KJ George is a former state Home Minister and an important city leader of the Congress. He is one of the party’s minority faces.BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan is considered close to Mr Siddaramaiah. He is another minority face of the party from Bengaluru city.MB Patil was the Campaign Committee Chief. He is the Lingayat face of the party and hails from the Mumbai Karnataka region.Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to the elected representatives at the swearing-in ceremony at Bengaluru’s Kanteerava Stadium.Mr Siddaramaiah has become the Chief Minister for the second time after his earlier five-year stint from 2013 to 2018. 61-year-old DK Shivakumar, who had earlier worked as Minister under Mr Siddaramaiah, will also continue as the party’s Karnataka state president till Parliamentary elections are over next year.