D.K. Shivakumar takes oath as Karnataka chief minister

Karnataka Congress president D.K. Shivakumar was sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday, 3 June, marking a significant leadership transition in the southern state. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy at a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru.

Shivakumar, 64, took the oath in the name of revered seer Gangadhar Ajja while holding a copy of the Constitution. Thirteen ministers, including a deputy chief minister, were also set to be inducted into the new council of ministers. Senior Congress leader G. Parameshwara is expected to serve as deputy CM.

An influential Vokkaliga leader and eight-time MLA from Kanakapura, Shivakumar was unanimously elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party on 30 May, days after Siddaramaiah resigned as chief minister as part of a leadership change approved by the party high command. Shivakumar had served as deputy chief minister in the Siddaramaiah government since the Congress returned to power in Karnataka in 2023.

His elevation ends months of speculation over a change in leadership and fulfils a long-standing expectation within the state Congress that he would eventually take over the top post. The transition was overseen by the party's central leadership and was projected as an effort to maintain unity ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, outgoing chief minister Siddaramaiah, Congress general-secretaries K.C. Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala, chief ministers of Congress-ruled states and several senior party leaders attended the swearing-in ceremony. Religious leaders representing various communities and heads of prominent maths were also present.

With PTI inputs