Uddhav invited for HDK's swearing-in, politely declines

Shiv Sena c hief Uddh a v Thackeray was in vited f or the swearing-in ceremony of HD K umaraswamy as Ka rnataka c hief minis ter, b ut “politely declined” as he was busy with campaig ning f or the u pcoming P alghar Lok Sabha b ypoll in the s tate, a senior par ty leader said o n Wednesday.

For mer pr ime min ister and JD(S ) leader HD De ve Gowda called T hackeray o n Tuesday and extended an invite fo r his son's oath-taking ceremony, Sena MP Sanja y Raut told PTI.

“However, Uddhavji politely declined and extended his best wishes to the ne w g overnment,” he said.

“Uddhavji told him he was v ery busy with the P alghar bypoll and he nce, w ould not be able to a ttend the ce remony. T hese ele ctionsar e v ery important f or us,” Raut added. The by-election to the Palghar Lok Sa bha sea t is scheduled to be held on May 28.

A JD(S)-Congress coalition government headed by Kumar aswamyw ill be swornin later at a ceremony to be attended by a galaxy of opposition leaders and chief ministers, ade velopment that could could be a harbinger for abroad-based antiBJP platform before the Lok Sabha polls next year.

The Congress has 78 lawmakers in the lower house of Karnataka against 37 of the JD(S).

The B JP has dubbed the Congress-JD(S) alliance "unholy" and claims the government will not complete its full term.