Congress to swear in new Karnataka Chief Minister and cabinet members on Thursday: Report

The newly elected Chief Minister of Karnataka and their cabinet members will be sworn in on Thursday, according to sources at NDTV. The ceremony will be attended by prominent figures such as the Gandhis and the national Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. The Congress has extended invitations to all "like-minded" parties to participate in the event.

Those with direct knowledge of the situation have indicated that the final makeup of the Karnataka cabinet will take shape within the next day or two. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had previously held power in Karnataka, lost the recent election to the Congress. Prior to the election, Karnataka was the BJP's only stronghold in southern India.

Out of the 224-member house, the Congress secured 135 seats, with a vote share of 42.88 per cent. In comparison, the BJP only won 66 seats, down from their 2018 total of 104 seats. Additionally, the BJP did not win any of the 51 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates. Out of these reserved constituencies, 36 are for SC candidates and 15 are for ST candidates.

To determine who will be appointed as the Chief Minister, the Congress called a meeting of its MLAs. It is expected that the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) will pass a resolution leaving the decision of the Chief Minister pick to the Congress national president. While a final decision will not be made immediately, the views of all MLAs will be taken into account.

Congress leaders DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah have both expressed interest in the top position. However, their rivalry has caused concern over a potential stalemate if the issue is not resolved. Shivakumar and his family, along with his brother, Congress MP from Bangalore Rural DK Suresh, have visited a temple 120 km from Bengaluru, the state capital. 

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah's supporters have put up posters outside his home in Bengaluru proclaiming him "the next Chief Minister of Karnataka". Posters have also appeared outside Shivakumar's home, wishing him "birthday greetings" as "the new Chief Minister of Karnataka". Shivakumar's birthday is tomorrow.

This election has seen Congress secure a record number of seats and vote share in over 30 years, with a total of 135 seats and a 42.88 per cent vote share. The last time the Congress came close to this result was in 1999 when they won 132 seats with a vote share of 40.84 per cent. Their best performance to date was in 1989 when they won 178 seats with a vote share of 43.76 per cent.