The Congress on May 20 morning released a list of 8 MLAs who will be taking the oath of office along with Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah as chief minister and KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar as deputy CM, at Kanteerava stadium in Bengaluru.
The new government led by Mr. Siddaramaiah is expected to take the oath of office at 12.30 p.m. in the presence of thousands of Congress workers, a host of chief ministers, and leaders of other States and about 20 regional parties.
As per the list signed by the CLP leader Siddaramaiah and sent to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, the MLAs who will take the oath of office, along with him and Mr Shivakumar, are G. Parameshwar, K.H. Muniyappa, M.B. Patil, K.J. George, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge, Ramalinga Reddy and B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan.
After registering a resounding victory in the recently-concluded Assembly elections with 135 seats, the highest for the Congress since 1989, the party is grappling with the problem of cabinet formation. Party sources indicated that there are around 65 aspirants for the 32 cabinet berths to be filled.
Despite multiple consultations in Delhi on May 19, the Congress seems to be struggling to arrive at a consensus on cabinet formation with just 8 names being finalised so far.
Party sources said that lobbying has been intense as multiple groups have been exerting pressure for cabinet berths even as the party is trying to balance caste and community equations and regional representation.
