New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister-elect HD Kumaraswamy met Congress leaders Rahul and Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to complete the modalities of cabinet and ministerial berth sharing.
On a day long trip to Delhi, the JD(S) leader is said to have held discussions on the contours of government formation with the Congress. Congress has twice as many members in the legislative assembly as the JD(S), though Kumaraswamy would be leading the coalition government cobbled post elections with Congress extending unconditional support.
Kumaraswamy also met BSP chief Mayawati ahead of the meeting with Congress leaders.
The nitty-gritty of the alliance is being finalised with reports suggesting Congress may seek two deputy chief ministers and some plum portfolios for its leaders.
When Kumaraswamy was asked about the appointment of a deputy CM, he remained cryptic and said “Rahul Ji has cleared the modalities”.
“He has given permission to Congress Karnataka general secretary KC Venugopal to discuss all those matters and finalise everything. Local leaders and he will sit together tomorrow (Tuesday) to finalise things,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi also tweeted about the meeting. "I had a warm and cordial meeting this evening, in Delhi, with Shri H D Kumaraswamy ji. We discussed the political situation in Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest. I will be attending his swearing in as CM of Karnataka, on Wednesday, in Bengaluru," he said. Kumaraswamy said Sonia Gandhi has also agreed to attend the oath taking ceremony.
Before the meeting, HDK said that the two allies will give Karnataka a stable government. But on being asked by News18 as to how strong is the anti-BJP alliance with the Congress, Kumaraswamy gave a cryptic response: "Time will tell."
Leader of Congress in LS Malikarjun Kharge has indicated that Kumarawamy might take oath alone on Wednesday and the council of ministers would be expanded after the alliance proves majority on the floor of the House within 24 hours after taking over the reins of power.
State Congress President G Parmeshwar is said to be one of front-runners for the deputy CM’s post.
Kumaraswamy’s oath-taking on Wednesday is also being seen as a show of strength of the opposition parties with invitations being extended to many regional satraps and top Congress leaders.
HD Kumaraswamy is most likely to take office at 1.30pm on Wednesday, as prescribed by his family astrologers.
Kumaraswamy said he has invited Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal, Chandrababu Naidu, KCR, Mamata Banerjee, Farooq Abdullah, Sitaram Yechury, Pinarai Vijayan and Tejaswi Yadav for the oath taking ceremony
BS Yeddyurappa, who was sworn in as the Karnataka CM on Thursday, stepped down on Saturday without facing the floor test in the state assembly as the BJP fell short of numbers.
Comments
0 comment