BackKarnataka CM-designate Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar meet Sonia Gandhi to discuss Cabinet formation
The visit came a day after the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader
PremiumKarnataka CM-designate Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar arrived at the residence of Sonia Gandhi on Friday to discuss all possible names to be inducted into the cabinet and formally invite the Congress high command for the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday.
The visit came a day after the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Thursday formally elected Siddaramaiah as its leader, after which he went to the Governor's office who invited him to form the next government of Karnataka.
Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are scheduled to take oath as the chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively along with a few ministers at 12.30 pm on Saturday at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
"We want to invite our leaders, we want to invite Rahul ji, Sonia ji, Kharge ji, and Priyanka ji for the ceremony. They gave their sweat, and direction (to the campaign), so I wanted to invite them personally. Later, we are discussing the cabinet formation," Shivakumar told reporters after arriving here.
"That we have requested our AICC president to take care of, for us, first is the Congress president and the Gandhi family, we are here to invite them personally," DK Shivakumar said on the Opposition leaders that will be invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony.
DK Shivakumar confidently affirmed that the commitments given by senior leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to the people of Karnataka would be accomplished during the first Cabinet meeting.
After extensive negotiations spanning three days, the Congress declared on Thursday morning that Siddaramaiah would serve as the chief minister and DK Shivakumar as the deputy chief minister. This news was warmly welcomed by the people of Bengaluru, who greeted the two leaders with great enthusiasm upon their arrival.
Before departing for Delhi, DK Shivakumar emphasized that ensuring the fulfillment of the pledges made to the public is of utmost importance and remains the top priority.
"Cabinet, people, all those things we will let you know later, we will not do anything leaving you (media), there is no need for any speculation. We will work unitedly," he said.
Upon assuming power in the state, the Congress party has made ambitious promises referred to as "guarantees," including the provision of 200 units of free electricity to every household (known as Gruha Jyoti), monthly assistance of ₹2,000 to the female head of each family (referred to as Gruha Lakshmi), the distribution of 10 kg of rice free of charge to every member of a below poverty line (BPL) household (known as Anna Bhagya), the allocation of ₹3,000 per month to college graduates and ₹1,500 to diploma holders (both between the ages of 18 and 25) for two years (referred to as YuvaNidhi), as well as the provision of free travel for women in public transportation buses (known as Shakti).
These promises are slated to be implemented on the first day of the Congress party assuming power in the state.
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