Bengaluru:  Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Deputy CM Dr. G. Parameshwara met Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala this afternoon in connection with the expansion of the nine-day-old JD(S)- Congress Ministry.

The meeting began at 1.30 pm and sources said that the first group of Ministers are likely to take oath next week. However, the exact dates will be announced after consulting the Governor’s Office. Coalition sources told Star of Mysore that both Kumaraswamy and Parameshwara will hold a joint press conference in Bengaluru at  4.30 pm today.

Before meeting the Governor, the CM told reporters at his Padmanabhanagar residence that he will expand the Cabinet either on June 4 or 6. “The Governor is leaving to New Delhi tomorrow to attend a pre-decided event and I will expand the Cabinet after the Governor returns to Bengaluru,” he said.

Kumaraswamy indicated that the impasse over portfolio sharing between the two alliance partners have been finalised. According to the understanding between the coalition partners, Congress would have 21 Ministers and the JD(S) 12. However in the upcoming expansion the full team of Ministers might not be sworn-in, sources in both the parties indicated.

AICC General Secretary (Karnataka in-charge) K.C. Venugopal had air-dashed to Bengaluru yesterday for wrapping up the understanding with the JD(S)  after senior Party leaders held discussions with AICC President Rahul Gandhi, currently in the US, through video-conferencing and came to an understanding.

According to Congress sources, the party had acceded to JD(S) demand of retaining Finance portfolio with a truncated Home given to the Congress. The other part of the Home Ministry will be held by the JD(S).

“I, Deve Gowda (JD(S) supremo) and Venugopal will sit together and discuss developments that have happened in Delhi and we will come before public regarding Cabinet formation and portfolio allocation, as also on the co-ordination committee,” Kumaraswamy told reporters. Hectic parleys were on between both the parties on Cabinet expansion and portfolio allocation, soon after HDK proved majority on the floor of the Assembly on May 25.

Reports say that the Congress and JD(S) alliance in Karnataka has mutually reached a decision of not sharing the post of CM and Kumaraswamy will complete his five-year term. The alliance is also likely to contest the 2019 elections together.

The post Cabinet Expansion next week appeared first on Star of Mysore.

Bengaluru: Putting an end to the prolonged, yet high-voltage political drama in Karnataka 10 days since the declaration of election results, the three-day old H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK) government yesterday won the vote of confidence in the Legislative Assembly amid a walkout by the BJP MLAs.

With 37 JD(S) MLAs, 78 Congress MLAs and support of a few others, the JD(S)-Congress’ post-poll alliance managed to sail through the Trust Vote as the House looked half empty with no BJP MLA present.

It turned out to be a smooth sailing for the 58-year-old Kumaraswamy as BJP members trooped out of the House after Leader of Opposition B.S. Yeddyurappa’s blistering attack on the “unholy” JD(S)- Congress coalition.

PASSED BY VOICE VOTE

Kumaraswamy’s motion seeking the confidence vote was declared passed by voice vote by Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar as the new CM declared the walkout to be “escapism.”

Kumaraswamy asserted that the Congress-JD(S) coalition Government would complete its five-year tenure.

He said that he was conscious that he was not running a majority government but promised “a new kind” of coalition Government that would become a model for the country. “You (BJP) may be feeling that this Government will go in two or three months, it will not go in two months or one month, but will stay with stability for five years,” Kumaraswamy said.

Kumaraswamy also expressed his regret for not being able to assume the Chief Minister’s post with the complete trust of the people. Promising to continue the popular schemes of Congress Government, Kumaraswamy said that the Government would not only be stable, but would protect the interests of everyone and provide an honest and good administration.

CLEARING BLEMISH

Kumaraswamy’s speech was largely dedicated to explaining the circumstances under which he had a truck with the BJP back in 2006 and arguing that his present alliance with the Congress was aimed at clearing that “blemish.”

In a repentant mood, he said, “I was still a novice in politics in 2006. I am still guilty of taking political decisions that hurt my father (H.D. Deve Gowda).” The Chief Minister said that he too contributed to the emergence of the BJP in Karnataka, which the BJP leaders called “gateway of the South.”

He described the formation of the coalition Government with the Congress as an attempt at clearing the “blemish” that his father had to suffer because of his decision to join hands with the “communal BJP” in 2006.

Defending his decision on breaking the alliance with the Congress in 2006, he said the JD(S)-BJP alliance was formed in 2006 to save the party in those political circumstances.

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Bengaluru: Janata Dal State President H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK) yesterday took oath as the 25th Chief Minister against the imposing backdrop of Vidhana Soudha in the presence of more than a dozen non-BJP leaders from across the country.

Kumaraswamy was administered the oath of office and secrecy at 4.30 pm by Governor Vajubhai Vala at a grand ceremony in the presence of a galaxy of national and regional leaders from across the country. This is Kumaraswamy’s second stint as Chief Minister, the first also being in a coalition set up when the JD(S) had allied with (and later deserted) the BJP in 2006.

Senior Congress leader Dr. G. Parameshwara was sworn as Kumaraswamy’s Deputy by Governor Vala. Other members of the Council of Ministers in the alliance will be inducted after Kumaraswamy proves his majority on the floor of the Assembly on May 25 (tomorrow).

Attired in the traditional white silk shirt and dhoti, Kumaraswamy took the oath in the name of God and the people of “Kannada Nadu”. Kumaraswamy, who had patched up with the Congress at the last minute last week to block the BJP, had been keen to turn the event into a springboard for opposition unity that his party would hold till next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and son Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who were seen to have bent backwards to give Kumaraswamy the lead role in the government, were there. So were Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi) and N. Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) along with Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati of the Bahuja Samaj Party.

Other dignitaries who attended the ceremony included Ajit Singh of Rashtriya Lok Dal, Sitaram Yechury of Communist Party of India and Tejashwi Yadav, son of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The JD(S)-Congress alliance leaders had brought its legislators to the venue since they have been isolated in city hotels to ensure they are not poached before the test of strength in the Assembly. All MLAs who were confined at luxury hotels in Bengaluru were brought in three buses. Soon after the event was over, the legislators were promptly bundled back into the buses. The party has decided to keep the legislators confined until after the coalition government proves its majority.

National leaders of other parties were personally greeted by former Prime Minister and Kumaraswamy’s father H.D. Deve Gowda who is also the JD(S) supremo. Deve Gowda was seen moving briskly across the stage to greet the leaders cutting across party lines. He seemed to take a liking to former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav whom he hugged and patted him on the back.

The event was high on symbolism. The swearing-in ceremony was the first joint public appearance by Uttar Pradesh’s bitter rivals-turned-allies, Akhilesh Yadav and Dalit powerhouse Mayawati shared the stage. Akhilesh Yadav warmly greeted her and later, stood next to her, waving to the cheering crowds. Mayawati, who has promised to continue her alliance for next year’s Lok Sabha elections, had a pre-poll alliance with JD(S) in Karnataka.

The many photo-ops and the bonhomie among the parties on stage, however, is no indicator that other rival non-BJP parties too will come together. West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee and CPM’s Sitaram Yechury were there and at one awkward moment, even came face to face. They politely greeted each other, shook hands and walked away.

The entire Gowda clan was on the grand steps of the Vidhana Soudha to witness the oath-taking. The family, including Kumaraswamy’s brothers and the younger generation comprising Prajwal Revanna and Nikhil Kumaraswamy.

Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar, CPI leader D. Raja, Puducherry CM Narayanasamy, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, Sonia Gandhi, BSP Supremo Mayawati, RLD leader Ajit Singh, AICC President Rahul Gandhi, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav during the swearing-in ceremony.

I am a child of circumstances, says Kumaraswamy

In his maiden press conference held soon after the swearing-in ceremony, Kumaraswamy described himself as a “child of circumstances” for having emerged as the ‘king’ once again in a coalition setup. He said that his government will be “governance oriented” and will not indulge in politics.

Kumaraswamy said that in addition to continuing with the previous welfare schemes, many new programmes would be added by the coalition government headed by him. He said that though he was not “independently” running the government, he would ensure that his administration would be “pro-people”.

The election to the post of Speaker will be held at 12.15 pm on May 25 before Kumaraswamy takes the floor test. Senior leader K.R. Ramesh Kumar of the Congress and A.T. Ramaswamy of the JD(S) are tipped to occupy the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively.

The BJP boycotted the ceremony and observed an ‘anti-people mandate’ day during which it held state-wide protests against the new coalition government, which it called “unholy”

Mamata upset with traffic arrangements

The swearing-in Kumaraswamy may have been projected as a show of opposition unity ahead of the 2019 general elections, attended by a galaxy of non-BJP leaders. But West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reportedly did not seem entirely happy with the traffic arrangements made for the gala event.

Sources said Banerjee had to walk a short distance to reach the oath-taking venue as some vehicles had blocked the route. A video that captures Banerjee entering the venue shows her gesturing her displeasure to Karnataka Director General and Inspector General of Police N. Neelamani Raju, as the Trinamool Congress Chief walked on a red carpet rolled out for the visiting dignitaries.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal walks, Kamal Haasan comes late

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and some leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) didn’t seem to have any reservations walking to the oath-taking ceremony. AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha, who accompanied Kejriwal, tweeted saying they chose to walk up to a kilometre to beat the traffic.

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan could not make it in time for the ceremony as he was caught in a traffic jam. Haasan, however, did make it for the high tea and interacted with leaders.

Governor and former CM take backseat

Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala’s isolation on the crowded stage was visibly apparent. This was the second time Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to a CM in a week. He administered the oath to BJP State President B.S. Yeddyurappa on May 17. Two days later, Yeddyurappa resigned.

Even former Chief Minister Siddharamaiah was forced to take a backseat. Though it was a Congress-supported JD(S) government, Siddharamaiah, who led the Congress campaign, was found mostly remained seated even amid the flurry of activities.

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Mysuru:  After standing testimony to a high-pitched and bitter election campaign, the State will witness the second swearing-in ceremony in less than a week when Chief Minister-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) will take oath on the flight of stairs of the Vidhana Soudha at 4.30 pm today. He will assume office along with Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara of the Congress and run a coalition government.

Ahead of his swearing-in ceremony, Kumaraswamy visited the Chamundeshwari Temple atop the Chamundi Hill this morning. He arrived in a chartered helicopter at the Lalitha Mahal Helipad at around 10.11 am (delayed by over two hours) and drove to Chamundi Temple and reached there  at 10.45 am.

Dressed in white shirt, white dhoti with a gold-colour border, the CM-designate along with his wife Anitha Kumaraswamy was given a Poorna Kumbha welcome with supporters and party workers shouting slogans hailing the new Chief Minister. Kumaraswamy and Anitha entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and performed special pujas to the Goddess. The rituals were performed by Chamundi Temple Chief Priest Dr. Shashishekar Dikshit.

Inside the temple, the family of Chamundeshwari MLA G.T. Devegowda presented Ambari-laden silver elephant figurine to the Kumaraswamy couple. Devegowda’s wife Lalitha and son G.D. Harish Gowda were present. Kumaraswamy also offered prayers to Mahabaleshwara Temple atop the Chamundi Hill. Usually VVIPs who come to the Hill Temple perform pujas only to Goddess Chamundeshwari and leave the venue. Kumaraswamy broke the tradition today and followed the practice of performing pujas to Mahabaleshwara.

Addressing reporters, Kumaraswamy said that he had began his election campaign and had launched his campaign vehicle “Vikasa Vahini” from the Chamundi Temple and he had come here to pray to the Goddess as part of the sankalpa for making him the Chief Minister. “I believe in Goddess Chamundeshwari, Sringeri Sharadambe and our family deity Lord Shiva. I staunchly believe that without divine intervention, my becoming the CM was impossible,” he said.

Chamundeshwari MLA G.T. Devegowda’s (GTD) wife Lalitha (extreme left) and son G.D. Harish Gowda (extreme
right) presenting a silver Ambari Elephant figurine to CM-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy and his wife Anitha
at Chamundi Hill Temple in Mysuru this morning.

On the nitty-gritty of his government, he said that he will take his coalition partner Congress before taking any policy decision.

“I am everybody’s CM and please don’t limit me to a particular caste,” he said.

On the likelihood of him reneging on the promise of farmers’ loan waiver, he said that he will not take a U Turn. “I am committed to waive the loans after seeing the financial health of the State and after discussing the issues with Congress. But I want to assure the farmers today that they need not fear about repaying loans,” he said.

On his accessibility after becoming the CM, Kumaraswamy said that the doors are always open for anyone who has a grievance. “Even a manual labourer can come and see me and Vidhana Soudha will be open to all. People can come to my house and meet me. I will keep the doors open from 6 am,” he said.

Before he left for Chamundi Hill from the Lalitha Mahal Helipad, the CM designate was received by Mayor B. Bhagyavathi, Former Mayor R. Lingappa, IGP Southern Range Soumendu Mukherjee, Superintendent of Police Amit Singh, City Police Commissioner Dr. A. Subramanyeswara Rao and DCP Vishnuvardhana.

At the Helipad too, Kumaraswamy spoke to reporters and said that he would provide an honest government and his priority would be to rescue farmers from distress. “I very well know that I will be performing a balancing act every day. Both Congress and JD(S) will form a Common Minimum Programme and there will be a coordination committee to guide the government,” he said.

After his visit to Chamundeshwari Temple, Kumaraswamy and Anitha Kumaraswamy drove to Suttur Mutt at the foot of Chamundi Hill and sought the blessings of Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji. Kumaraswamy later flew to Ramanagaram and from there, he will reach Bengaluru.

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Bengaluru: With CM-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK) of the JD(S) all set take oath on the steps of Vidhana Soudha this evening, the event will see a host of third front leaders attending the ceremony, besides AICC President Rahul Gandhi and Congress Supremo Sonia Gandhi.

The attendance of a large number of third front leaders is seen as a prelude to the Opposition’s preparations for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

BSP Supremo Mayawati, former UPCM and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, Delhi CM and AAP Founder Arvind Kejriwal, RTD leader Tejaswi Yadav, son of jailed former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav, JD(S) rebel leader Sharad Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar, Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu, DMK leader M.K. Stalin, West Bengal CM and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee, Communist Party leaders such as Sitaram Yechury and D. Raja and many more leaders from different States have been invited for HDK’s swearing-in ceremony.

KCR congratulates HDK

Meanwhile, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao  (KCR) of the TRS, a master strategist that he is, chose to personally congratulate CM-designate HDK yesterday, a day before the swearing-in ceremony. Rao returned to Hyderbad last night itself.

Rao’s action is seen as a strategic move to avoid sharing dais with top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, which would have otherwise sent wrong political signals in his home State of Telangana.

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New Delhi:  The self-proclaimed ‘poor humble farmer’ Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda might have been humbled more than once but when the going gets tough —every time — he seems to strike back with a vengeance.

The joke in the corridors of political party offices and such destinations in the capital these days is what is common between Sonia Gandhi and H.D. Deve Gowda. Needless to say the answer is pretty innocuous one — both are good parents and both want proper rehabilitation in career graph for their sons.

For Deve Gowda, who turned 86 on May 18, the opportunism or rather political pragmatism has been a virtue. In 2006, political observers in Bengaluru say suddenly after his son H.D. Kumaraswamy’s 20-month stint as Chief Minister (with BJP as supporting ally), the ‘senior Gowda’ and his son realised that they should not be seen propping up a BJP government in Karnataka when the likes of Prakash Karat of CPI-M were talking about withdrawing support to Manmohan Singh government over the Nuclear deal.

The same Janata Dal – Secular (JD-S) — now only a splinter and State-level outfit from one-time mammoth socialist Janata Parivar — is back again into the Congress fold and — not to miss the crucial point— Kumaraswamy will be the new Chief Minister.

“The fact that JD(S) could win only 37 seats in 224-member Assembly did not stop the over ambitions of Gowda family. The Congress is only adding to their ego just because they want to stop BJP come to power,” says BJP leader N.C. Shaina.

Ironically, a JD(S)-Congress advertisement in newspaper carries photograph of socialist icon Jayaprakash Narayan, who pioneered ‘Indira Hatao’ nationwide movement, along with Rahul Gandhi.

Some see it as veteran Deve Gowda’s political complexity, others have tried to play it down. A Congress source said the grand- old-party has learnt to respect all political stalwarts irrespective of their affiliations. Moreover, there is already a controversy going as former PM Deve Gowda has already held a meeting with senior civil servants and Police officials.

Nevertheless, Deve Gowda’s political opportunism is not new as within months of becoming Prime Minister he forced Janata Dal leadership to expel legendary socialist veteran Ramakrishna Hegde, long time “political mentor and benefactor” of Gowda. Deve Gowda, born on May 18, 1933, was the 12th Prime Minister after the fall of 13-day- long first BJP government at the Centre. The move to prop up Deve Gowda, a hitherto ‘mofussil’ variety leader as Prime Minister of India, particularly at the instance of communists and CPI-M leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet had earned criticism even from Left-minded intellectuals.

The late Nikhil Chakravarthy, otherwise wedded to the Leftist ideology, did not approve of the move. This was in 1996 and the timing had coincided with CPI(M) hardliners led by Prakash Karat refusing patriarch Jyoti Basu to don the mantle of Prime Ministership. It is another chapter Basu later called it a “historic blunder”.

Born into a farming family, Gowda has always made a virtue of this background and as Prime Minister earned the niche for addressing as a “poor humble farmer.”  Now that his party has managed power yet again — it remains to be seen what role the blessed Lucky Old Boy of Indian politics has cut out for himself in the national politics.

It goes without saying that Deve Gowda’s detractors would unhesitatingly dub him as a fervently ambitious man both for himself and his kin, especially son Kumaraswamy. His stint in the seat of power in South Bloc was cut short in 1997 when the then low profile Congress President Sitaram Kesari went to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and withdrew support. In a spirited reply in Lok Sabha later, Gowda called Kesari  an old man in hurry.

Now, back to the federal front politics of 2018-19 — all eyes will be on the machinations of regional players and, of course, the Congress and the communists. Importantly, it remains to be seen how could other regional players — equally ambitious if not more —  will deal with the new changed scenario even as Banerjee has been consistently counselling JD(S) and Congress to work together.

For other regional leaders like N. Chandrababu Naidu, who was convenor of United Front when Deve Gowda was PM, politics seemed to have come a full circle.

Curiously, in 2016, Naidu told a visiting group of journalists in Tirupati that in 1996 he too was offered Prime Ministership but he declined only when his son (now a Minister in Andhra Pradesh) had told him that such a post will be only a ‘temporary job’.

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Bengaluru:  Ahead of Friday’s Trust Vote, both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be elected on Thursday (May 24).

Sources in the Congress said that five-time MLA K.R. Ramesh Kumar, who was elected on Congress ticket from Srinivasapur in Kolar district and who served as Speaker during the H.D. Deve Gowda and J.H. Patel Governments in the State (1994-99) will be the Legislative Assembly Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker will be from the JD(S). Kolar MLA K. Srinivas Gowda and Arakalgud MLA A.T. Ramaswamy are in the race for the post.

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Bengaluru: JD(S) State President H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK) will take oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka tomorrow (May 23) at 4.30 pm on the steps of Vidhana Soudha, the State Secretariat. Governor Vajubhai R. Vala will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Kumaraswamy.

The swearing-in ceremony is all set to be a show of strength by the opposition as leaders from 22 States are expected to be present. Five Chief Ministers — Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), N. Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), K. Chandrashekhar Rao (Telangana) and Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi) — are expected to attend the grand event.

Among others, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who took a lead role in cementing ties between the Congress and JD(S), Tejashwi Yadav, son of RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, DMK Chief M.K. Stalin are also likely to attend the swearing in ceremony. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief Mayawati, CPI’s Sudhakar Reddy and D. Raja are also expected to attend.

HDK will be sworn-in as Chief Minister for the second time in 12 years and the JD(S)-Congress combine will be returning to power in Karnataka after more than a decade as in 2006, the JD(S) had walked out of the alliance and joined hands with the BJP.

Soudha steps all set for coronation

The swearing-in ceremony will be held on the flight of stairs of the Vidhana Soudha and a huge stage is being erected for the purpose. According to sources, a special silk shirt and dhoti have been purchased for Kumaraswamy. He will be taking oath bare-footed following advice by astrologers.

A puja was held in front of Vidhana Soudha by a priest before the stage was erected yesterday. Arrangements have been made to accommodate one lakh chairs on the road between Vidhana Soudha and High Court. There will be a separate enclosure with 3,000 seats for VIPs. Prior to the oath-taking, HDK will offer worship at Chamundeshwari temple atop the Hill in Mysuru tomorrow morning.

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New Delhi:  Embarrassed by the fiasco in Karnataka, BJP President Amit Shah yesterday tried to put up a brave face and said the saffron party was in its legitimate right to stake claim for Government formation as people’s mandate was clearly against the Congress.

‘’We staked claim for Government formation as the single largest party because the mandate was against the Congress and we expected JD(S), which also sought vote against the Congress, to support us,’’ Shah told reporters at the party headquarters here. “If we had not staked claim to form a Government, it would have been against the mandate of Karnataka people,” he added.

“This is not a confused mandate as is being portrayed. It is a decidedly anti-Congress vote. That is why we say that the Congress has entered into an unholy alliance with the JD(S). The Congress has found a new way of portraying defeats as victory, portrayals which have nothing to do with the ground reality.”

The BJP Chief wondered what was Congress was really celebrating as its numbers dropped from 122 to 78.  Similarly, he said, JD(S) was rejoicing its victory in only 37 seats. “Only Congress and JD(S) are celebrating — people of Karnataka are not,” Shah added.

Refusing to speculate on how long the coalition would last, Shah said, “Kumaraswamy has a lot of faith in astrologers. I also believe in them, but feel that democratic processes have their own              time and pace.”

To a question, he said there was nothing wrong in staking claim for Government formation and the BJP would have sailed through trial of strength had not Congress put their MLAs ‘’locked’’ in a hotel.

‘’Had these MLAs got in touch with their own people or even staged victory march, the common people would have asked them to vote in favour of the BJP,’’ he said.

Shah also maintained that drawing parallelism between Karnataka and Government formation in Manipur and Goa would not be fair as in Manipur and Goa, Congress never staked claim.

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New Delhi:  Fast-pacing the process of Cabinet formation in Karnataka, the Chief Minister-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK) yesterday met Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and got their clearance. Kumaraswamy touched Sonia Gandhi’s feet in a gesture of gratitude for supporting the JD(S).

Kumaraswamy said that both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will attend the swearing-in ceremony tomorrow. At the meeting with the Gandhis, though the leaders did not go into the nitty-gritty of government formation, Rahul asked Kumaraswamy to leave the post of the Speaker for the Congress. Kumaraswamy gave his consent.

“I wanted to show my respect and regards to Gandhi family. I requested them for attending the oath-taking ceremony on Wednesday. Both of them agreed to be present,” Kumaraswamy said. He further said: “It was a good meeting. Rahul cleared the initial modalities and asked Venugopal to discuss all the concerned matters,” he said.

After interacting with Kumaraswamy, Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “I had a warm and cordial meeting this evening, in Delhi, with Kumaraswamy. We discussed the political situation in  Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest.”

“I will be attending his swearing-in as the CM of Karnataka, on Wednesday, in Bengaluru,” Gandhi wrote in the micro blogging site confirming his attendance at the oath-taking ceremony.

Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy also met BSP Supremo Mayawati in Delhi as her party is a pre-poll alliance partner with JD(S).

No differences of opinion: HDK

In Hassan, Kumaraswamy said that his party, the JD(S), had no differences of opinion with coalition partner Congress over distribution of portfolios. “The issue is created by a section of the media. I have been following the hate messages spreading on social media. I will give them an answer in a few days,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters before visiting several temples in his home district and offering special puja to the deities, along with his family members. “Managing the Chief Minister’s post is a challenge. I will discuss the issues with the leaders about the functioning of the Government. I will resolve the people’s problems,” Kumaraswamy said.

He said, he will take all Congress leaders into confidence to ensure a stable Government.

Responding to BJP MLA B. Sriramulu’s statement that he will give sleepless nights to JD(S) and Congress leaders, Kumaraswamy said, “Neither Sriramulu, nor BJP, can take away our sleep. I will make them spend sleepless nights,”  Kumaraswamy said.

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