Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar were sworn in on Saturday as the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, respectively, marking the inauguration of the new Congress government in the state.
The solemn oath-taking ceremony, currently underway at the Kanteerava Stadium, witnessed State Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administering the oath of office to the two leaders.
For Siddaramaiah, this is his second term as Chief Minister, having previously served from 2013 to 2018. As he took the oath, the 24th Chief Minister invoked the name of God. On the other hand, Shivakumar, choosing to express his devotion, took the oath in the name of his spiritual guru, Shri Gangadhara Ajja.
The oath-taking had its own nuances as G. Parameshwara, another prominent Congress leader, swore in the name of the Constitution. Meanwhile, veteran Congress leaders K.H. Muniyappa and K.J. George took their oaths invoking the name of God.
The ceremony witnessed the presence of numerous notable politicians, including AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yachury, CPI General Secretary D. Raja, and NCP veteran Sharad Pawar.
The event also saw the participation of popular figures from the entertainment industry, such as Tamil superstar Kamal Hassan, Kannada superstar Shivaraj Kumar, renowned actor Duniya Vijay, actress-turned-politician Ramya, actress Nishvika Naidu, senior actress-turned-politician Umashree, and film director and producer V. Rajendra Singh Babu.
As Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar arrived at the venue, they joined hands and waved at the enthusiastic crowd. Rahul Gandhi later joined them, eliciting cheers from the audience. Nearly one lakh people are in attendance at the grand swearing-in ceremony.
Ahead of the event, Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and expressed his excitement, stating, “Great to be back among the people of Karnataka. Looking forward to the swearing-in ceremony of the new Congress government, which will be a people-centric government, focused on bringing progress.” (Edited)
