Oppn to be out in full force at K’taka oath Congress trying to repeat Karnataka success in Goa?
Cong to get 22 ministerial positions, JD(S) 12
BENGALURU: Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy will take oath on Wednesday as the 25th chief minister of Karnataka.
A galaxy of opposition leaders including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Ajit Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, Tejaswi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, and actor and politician Kamal Hassan are expected to be present at the event that will happen in front of the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of power in Bengaluru.
Amidst massive infighting in the party for ministerial berths, the Congress announced that only Dr G Parameshwara, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, would be sworn in as deputy chief minis- ter, along with Kumaraswamy. KC Venugopal, Congress general secretary who is in charge of the state said: “It has been decided that of the 34 (possible) berths, Congress will get 22 positions including deputy CM while JD(S) will get 12 positions including chief minister.”
He clarified that other members of the cabinet would be sworn in once the coalition proves its majority on the floor of the house. Venugopal also said that Ramesh Kumar from the Congress who was a former speaker would be the speaker again and the deputy speaker would be from the JD(S). He added that a co-ordination committee would be set up shortly to ensure smooth running of the government.
The results of the elections held on May 12 threw up a hung House. NEW DELHI: A buoyed Congress is planning to replicate the Karnataka model in Goa and has started back-channel talks with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), a partner in the Bjp-led ruling coalition, two top state Congress leaders said on condition of anonymity. The two leaders, who are key functionaries, said their party is discussing the “modalities” with the MGP in its bid to oust the BJP from power in the coastal state. The deal, they said, would include offering the leadership role to the smaller party as was done in Karnataka.
MGP leader and state PWD minister Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar ruled out any understanding with the Congress.
One of the Congress leaders, cited above, said, “We are in talks with the MGP and are willing to support them.”
The aim is to remove the BJP government, he added.