NCP chief Sharad Pawar to participate in Karnataka CM swearing-in ceremony

"I received a call from the Congress President regarding the swearing-in ceremony of the Karnataka CM. He said several top leaders are invited and also requested me to attend the ceremony. Therefore, I will go to Karnataka tomorrow to attend the oath-taking ceremony," Sharad Pawar said while talking to the reporters.

The oath ceremony will take place on Saturday in Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru.

Congress on Thursday invited the leaders of like-minded parties to the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar scheduled on May 20.

As per the sources, the invitation has also been sent to like-minded opposition parties and their leaders including Hemant Soren, Sitaram Yechuri, Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, and Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

However, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said that he has accepted the Congress' invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

"They (Congress) had a massive win (in Karnataka). I am in contact with the CM designate. He and Congress President also invited me to the swearing-in ceremony, so I told them that I will come...if Opposition parties come together, that will be in the interest of the nation, efforts are underway for that," Kumar said.

Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister designate Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister designate DK Shivakumar on Saturday on behalf of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"The CM designate of Karnataka Siddaramaiah and his other colleagues called to personally invite All India Trinamool Congress Chairperson and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for swearing-in tomorrow. She conveyed her best wishes and designated Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar TMC Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha to attend the ceremony," tweeted TMC MP Derek O'Brien. (ANI)