Siddaramaiah will now take oath as Karnataka CM on May 20; Shivakumar as his deputy

New Delhi: Even as Congress has been able to keep the country guessing on the name of the next chief minister of Karnataka, the formation of the new cabinet in the state and the date of the swearing-in ceremony, sources once again validated NewsDrum's Tuesday report.

NewsDrum reported Siddaramaiah being picked as CM and DK Shivakumar his deputy soon after veteran journalist Shekhar Iyer broke the news on NewsDrum LIVE show.

Although there is a delay in the oath-taking of the new CM and his cabinet due to hectic parleys, Siddaramaiah’s name as the next CM of Karnataka remains constant.

Senior journalist, who covered Congress for over two decades, Sumit Awasthi Thursday morning took to Twitter to share the latest update on the suspense over Karnataka CM.

Re-confirming NewsDrum’s breaking story, Awasthi wrote that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge reached a formula after late-night meetings with both the CM claimants. 

According to Awasthi, Siddaramaiah will be the new Karnataka Chief Minister with D K Shivakumar as his deputy.

Awasthi added that the oath-taking ceremony will now be held on Saturday, May 20, at 12.30 PM.

#कर्नाटक के नये मुख्यमंत्री सिद्धारमैया होंगे…

डी के शिवकुमार होंगे नये उप-मुख्यमंत्री.. पार्टी के प्रदेशाध्यक्ष भी बने रहेंगे.. #DKS

शपथ ग्रहण समारोह 20 मई को दोपहर 12.30 बजे होगा!!

कल देर रात तक चली बैठक के बाद अध्यक्ष खड़गे @kharge ने दोनों आला नेताओं के साथ मिलकर…

— Sumit Awasthi (@awasthis) May 18, 2023

Even though efforts were on to choose the new chief minister, there were celebrations in the native village of Siddaramaiah and outside his Bengaluru residence on Wednesday. 

Earlier, Siddaramaiah's supporters who had gathered near the official residence of the outgoing Leader of Opposition in the Assembly in Bengaluru, were jubilant, as some media outlets claimed that his name had been finalised and only an official announcement was awaited.

Also, security was stepped up in Ramanagara, the home district of Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar, as a precautionary measure in light of his supporters staging protests at multiple places.

Meanwhile, preparations were underway at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the heart of Bengaluru, for the swearing-in ceremony of the new (yet-to-be-finalised) Chief Minister-designate, with officials inspecting the venue.

In fact, this is the very venue where Siddaramaiah took oath as the Chief Minister for the first time in 2013.