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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge, party's MLAs G Parameshwara and MB Patil are among the eight MLAs who will be sworn in as ministers in the state Cabinet during the oath-taking ceremony in Karnataka on Saturday.
According to a letter to the Governor by the Karnataka Congress Legislative Party dated May 20, the other MLAs who will be sworn in today include 7-time MP KH Muniyappa, KJ George, Satish Jarkiholi, Ramalinga Reddy and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan. The oath-taking ceremony of Siddharamaiah as Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar as Deputy Chief Minister, and eight MLAs as ministers will be held today at Bengaluru's Kanteerava Stadium at around 12:30 pm. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the CM and his cabinet. The provision of cabinet berths to MB Patil and Parameshwara comes amid reports stating that MB Patil, a Lingayat leader, and G Parameshwara, a Dalit leader, were upset over the denial of deputy chief minister posts. Amid reports of Karnataka Congress MLA G Parameshwara being upset over the denial of the deputy chief ministerial post, he on Friday said that it is time to forget the "individual aspirations" as the "party is supreme" for him. He further said that there is a need to "look forward" with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections coming. "This is the time when we all have to work together. This is the time when we should forget our individual aspirations. This is the time when we should fulfil the promises made to people...As I said, the party is supreme. So, we need to look forward. There is the 2024 Lok Sabha election. We have to consider those things as well," Parameshwara said. Congress MLA MB Patil said that all communities including Lingayat and Dalit need "due share" of powers in the new state government. "...Lingayats contesting on BJP tickets have been rejected. So, naturally, when we have come towards Congress, the expectations are high. They want a due share. I am confident that our party will take care of it," he said. "...Why not? I would have been much happier if I got 50 seats," said Patil when asked about the "tussle" arising out of Lingayat and Dalit communities' demand for Deputy CM posts for G Parameshwara and him amid the thumping victory of the party in Karnataka elections. The Congress party has sent invitation to a number of like-minded opposition parties including 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. On Friday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that he had accepted the Congress' invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka's new Chief Minister and his cabinet on Saturday. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has also reached Bengaluru to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Karnataka Cabinet. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was also invited for the swearing-in ceremony of the Karnataka Chief Minister designate Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister designate DK Shivakumar on Saturday, however, she conveyed her best wishes and designated Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar TMC Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha to attend the ceremony. "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. Congress bagged 135 seats in the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ousting the ruling BJP, which got 66 seats while the Janata Dal (Secular) secured 19 seats in the results declared on May 13. (ANI)
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