On Saturday, nearly one week after the party won the Karnataka Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah was sworn in as Chief Minister for the second term, along with state Congress President D K Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister and eight legislators as Ministers.
For the swearing-in event, Congress chairman Kharge had called the leaders from several like-minded parties. The gathering appeared to be an opposition party display of strength as they work together to challenge the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, NCP President Sharad Pawar, National Conference supremo Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mahbooba Mufti, actor-politician Kamal Haasan, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI General Secretary D Raja among others attended the event.
Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan is present at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected Karnataka government.
While questioned from BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad about opposition power show at Siddaramaiah’s swearing in ceremony, he answered that as far as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is concerned about going to the swearing-in ceremony, it is his right, but that is what being claimed. That this will show opposition unity, it is nothing as Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is not present at his swearing-in ceremony.Apart from this, West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee is absent. Not a prominent leader of South Bihar. In such a situation, it is not right to see this programme as opposition unity. In the coming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi will become the Prime Minister. There is no vacancy for the Prime Minister in India right now.
However, sources said Kerala CM, Telangana Chief Minister and BRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao, Odisha Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP leader Y S Jagan Mohan and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had not been invited. No invitation had been sent to BSP chief Mayawati too, the sources said.
