New Delhi: Leaders of several like-minded opposition parties are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister-designate Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday in Bengaluru. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has extended the invitation to several chief ministers and Opposition leaders.
Apart from Opposition leaders, the Chief Ministers of Congress ruling states and party top brass including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will attend the swearing-in tomorrow. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at 12.30 pm at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on May 20.
Mamata to skip Siddaramaiah swearing-in
However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not be attending the ceremony. Instead of the TMC supremo party leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar will attend the programme. Banerjee had received an invitation from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to participate in the event on May 20 in Bengaluru.
"The CM designate of Karnataka Mr Siddaramaiah & his other colleagues called to personally invite @AITCofficialChairperson & Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for swearing-in tomorrow. She conveyed her best wishes & designated @kakoligdastidar #TMC Deputy Leader in LS to attend ceremony," TMC Rajya Sabha party leader Derek O' Brien tweeted.
The presence of the TMC chief at the swearing-in programme of Siddaramaiah is considered crucial for opposition unity, especially after her recent statement that in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, her party will support the Congress where it is strong, news agency PTI reported.
"Wherever the Congress is strong, let them fight. We will give them support; there is nothing wrong (in that). But they also have to support other political parties," Banerjee said recently. Her statement came soon after Congress scored an emphatic victory over the BJP in the southern state.
List of Opposition leaders to attend
Kharge has invited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah have also been invited. Congress has also invited former Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti.
Kharge has sent an invitation to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and he is likely to attend the swearing-in. JD(U) spokesperson Rajib Ranjan has confirmed that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar will attend the swearing-in of the Congress government.
The Congress chief personally called up CPI general secretary D Raja and he has confirmed his participation at the swearing-in. A similar invite has also been sent to CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury as also to Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.
Leaders who are not invited
However, Telangana Chief Minister and BRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao, Odisha Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP leader Y S Jagan Mohan, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwat Mann have not been sent any invitations. The invitation has also not been sent to BSP chief Mayawati.
CPI(M) upset over Kerala CM not invited to Siddaramaiah's swearing-in
The Kerala unit of the CPI(M) is upset over Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan not figuring in the list of special invitees to the swearing-in ceremony of his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah, reported news agency IANS.
Refuting the charge, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said that the leaders of political parties have been invited. Both the national secretaries of CPI(M) and CPI are among the invitees. “It doesn't augur well not to invite Vijayan and this shows that the governance in Karnataka will not go well,” said EP.Jayarajan, a top CPI(M) leader state. Notably, the Congress, however, has called Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress scored a victory by bagging 135 seats, while the ruling BJP secured 66 seats.
