Bengaluru: HD Kumaraswamy was on Wednesday sworn in as the Chief Minister of a Janata Dal-Secular-Congress coalition government in Karnataka.
Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office to Kumaraswamy at 4.30 pm on the grand steps of the state Secretariat in the presence of national and regional leaders from across the country.
G Parameshwara of the Congress took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister.
Kumaraswamy is third son of former Prime Minister and JD-S patriarch HD Deve Gowda.
He became Chief Minister on Wednesday after the Congress, defeated in the May 12 Assembly polls, offered the coveted post that has eluded him on his own steam.
With his JD-S just winning 37 seats – a distant third behind the Congress (78) and BJP (104), he could not have imagined he would be heading a coalition government in the state again.
Even before all the results were out on May 15, Congress leaders rushed to Raj Bhavan to inform Governor Vajubhai Vala of their unconditional support to the JD-S, with Kumaraswamy as head of the coalition government, in a desperate move to keep out of power the BJP, which emerged the single largest party but fell seven short of a simple majority.
When Vala on May 16 invited BJP’s legislative party leader BS Yeddyurappa to form the government, ignoring the JD-S and Congress combine claim of having more that a majority, Kumaraswamy cried foul and moved the Supreme Court to stall the latter’s swearing-in ceremony on May 17.
Although the post-poll alliance partners could not prevent Yeddyurappa from taking oath as Chief Minister, they prevailed upon the apex court to advance the floor test in the hung House to May 19 from 15 days Vala gave.
Unable to cobble a majority, Yeddyurappa resigned even before the trust vote, paving the way for Kumaraswamy to stake claim to power.