Karnataka Live Updates: HD Kumaraswamy sworn in as Karnataka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy will take oath at 4.30 pm on Wednesday, May 22 in front of the Secretariat (Vidhana Soudha) in Bengaluru in the presence of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and Delhi and Kerala Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Pinarayi Vijayan, among other opposition leaders.

Congress leader Gangadharaiah Parameshwara will be sworn in as Karnataka’s Deputy CM in the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government

HD Kumaraswamy, G Parameshwara and cabinet colleagues will be sworn-in by Governor Vajubhai Vala on the grand steps of state secretariat Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru

Congress Karnataka in-charge KC Venugopal has announced that KR Ramesh of the Congress will be the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. Deputy Speaker will be from the JD(S)

The JD(S)-Congress coalition government has 117 members in the 224-member Karnataka assembly, including a BSP MLA, a Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janata Paksha MLA and an Independent. JD(S) itself has 36 MLAs and Congress 78. The BJP had 104. Polling was deferred in two seats RR Nagar and Jayanagar in Bengaluru.

Polling in southwest Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly seat was postponed to May 28 following the detection of 9,564 voters ID cards at a flat in the constituency. Votes will be counted on May 31.

Polling in in south Bengaluru's Jayanagar Assembly seat was deferred after the sudden death of BJP candidate and sitting MLA BN Vijaya Kumar. The BJP has nominated Vijaya Kumar’s brother BN Prahlad to contest the seat. Congress has repeated its candidate Sowmya R and JD(S) has fielded Kalegowda. A total of 19 candidates are in the fray. Voting in Jayanagar will take place on June 11 from 7 am to 6 pm and counting is on June 13.

The swearing-in ceremony of CM-designate HD Kumaraswamy is expected to be a "show of strength" by opposition parties ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in a possible line up against the BJP.

Prominent leaders of around a dozen political parties including UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, BSP supremo Mayawati, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, RLD chief Ajit Singh and CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury are all set to share the dais on Wednesday. Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala, CPI(M)), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal, Trinamool Congress) and Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam Party) are also expected to attend.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao visited Bengaluru on May 22 to wish Karnataka CM designate HD Kumaraswamy. KCTR said he would not be able to attend the swearing-in due to a prior commitment to attend the Collector's conference in Hyderabad on Wednesday

Unfazed by the fall of its 3-day government last week in Karnataka, a defiant BJP's state unit will protest across the state on Wednesday against the formation of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S)-Congress coalition government, said BJP's spokesman S Shantaram in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

"As the Congress-JD-S alliance hijacked the people's mandate and formed an unholy alliance to form a coalition government on Wednesday, we are observing the occasion as the 'anti-people's mandate day' across the state," said Shantaram in a statement.

Opposition leaders JD(S)’ HD Deve Gowda, Congress' Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party’s Mayawati, Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Telugu Desam Party leader and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Tejashwi Yadav and CPI(M)'s Sitaram Yechury and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, among others, joined hands with Kumaraswamy after the oath. Socialist leader Sharad Yadav was also in attendance.