By Shreya Maskara
As dust begins to settle over the chaos of the Karnataka polls, Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy took oath as the state’s 24th chief minister. The ceremony, which was boycotted by the BJP, was a grand show of a unified opposition, who have dismissed all rumours of a squabble over cabinet assignments.
Here’s what happened
Kumaraswamy was sworn in in the presence of leaders from over 10 parties, including prominent names such as Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairman Sonia Gandhi, Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Telugu Desam Party chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
So many happy faces 😀 @RahulGandhi @yadavtejashwi @BSP4Bharat @MamataOfficial @ncbn @hd_kumaraswamy @PawarSpeaks @yadavakhilesh @RLDparty @SharadYadavMP @ikamalhaasan @vijayanpinarayi @SitaramYechury @ArvindKejriwal #UnitedInVictory pic.twitter.com/jRhUp2CsdO
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 23, 2018
Governor Vajubhai Vala also administered the oath of office to Congress state president G. Parameshwara, who has become the deputy chief minister by. After the swearing in, Kumaraswamy and the JD(S)-Congress alliance will face a floor test on Thursday, whereby, they have to prove a majority in the House.
The cabinet question
JD(S) and Congress leaders met on Monday in New Delhi and announced that both parties have both agreed to “forget the past, look at the future and forge a long-term relationship”. In addition to this, the alliance leaders have agreed to have Congress leader K.R. Ramesh as speaker of the Karnataka Assembly. “The newly formed JD(S)-Congress coalition will take office Wednesday and names of the ministers in the Cabinet will be announced a day after the new government clears a trust vote on May 24,” Kumaraswamy added on Tuesday. The 34-member cabinet will have 12 JD(S) and 22 Congress members.
The opposition is brimming
It is certain that opposition parties are attempting to present a unified front ahead of the 2019 general election and there were several breakaway meetings between these leaders after the ceremony. Banerjee met Naidu; both have previously advocated for all regional parties to come together for the Lok Sabha poll.
“We will keep in touch with all the regional parties so that we can work for the development of the nation, development of the people and development of the federal set-up also,” the West Bengal chief minister said to reporters. “Our mission and vision is very clear, that we can meet each other, we can talk to each other, and we can go to every state and talk to each other that will give us more strength for the future of the country.”
Shreya Maskara is a senior copy editor at Qrius
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