After days of speculation over who will be the next Karnataka Chief Minister, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has put his stamp on the name of veteran party leader Siddaramaiah to become the next chief minister of Karnataka. Meanwhile DK Shivakumar, who was also in the race for the next CM, has been chosen to be his deputy.The oath-taking ceremony will be held in Bengaluru on May 20.
Kharge has invited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K 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.
Kharge has sent an invitation to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and he is likely to attend the swearing in.Kharge also personally called up CPI general secretary D Raja and he has confirmed his participation at the swearing in. A similar invite has also been sent to CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury as also to Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.Bihar CM Nitish Kumar will attend the swearing in of the Congress government in Karnataka, JD(U) spokesperson Rajib Ranjan said.