Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Congress leader D K Shivakumar as the next Chief Minister of Karnataka on June 3. The swearing-in will take place at 4:05 pm on June 3 at the Lok Bhavan premises.
Following the ceremony, Rahul Gandhi will visit Uttarakhand on June 4 and 5. On June 4, he is scheduled to address a public rally in Almora and interact with ex-servicemen in Pauri.
On June 5, the Congress leader will hold interactions with party leaders and workers in Dehradun and Mussoorie as part of his organisational outreach programme in the state.
Multiple deputy CMs, mix of old and new faces in cabinet
According to the sources, ministers who served in Siddaramaiah's government want to secure a place in the next cabinet. Also, many leaders who have been elected thrice to the Karnataka Assembly also want a ministerial berth. They said as many as 90 of 136 Congress legislators are aiming to become ministers. Many of them have met both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah.
Speculations are also rife that the state could have multiple deputy chief ministers. However, the Congress is cautious about the next government, said sources, while pointing out that the grand old party wants a mix of old and new faces in the cabinet.
Siddaramaiah resigned as CM
Siddaramaiah resigned as Chief Minister on May 28, two days after Congress' top leadership asked him to step down. Governor Gehlot accepted his resignation the next day and dissolved the Council of Ministers.
This resignation of Siddaramaiah had brought the long-drawn power tussle between him and Shivakumar to an end.
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, who is also the party state president, for the coveted chief minister's post after Congress won the May 2023 Assembly election.
The party then managed to convince Shivakumar and made him the deputy CM.
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