H D Kumaraswamy to Take Oath as Karnataka Chief Minister on May 21

Bengaluru, May 19: H. D. Kumaraswamy will take oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on May 21 between 12 noon and 1 pm. Kumaraswamy told reporters here that Governor Vajubhai R. Vala has invited him and his party to form the government in Karnataka after B.S. Yeddyurappa announced his resignation ahead of the floor test on Saturday.

"West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana chief minister KC Rao congratulated me. Mayawati ji has also blessed me. I have invited all regional leaders for the oath ceremony. I've also invited Sonia Gandhi ji and Rahul Gandhi ji personally," he told reporters.

Earlier, Yeddyurappa, ahead of the floor test in the Karnataka assembly, announced that his resignation as the chief minister. However, Yeddyurappa in his speech inside the Vidhana Soudha said he will fight for the rights of the people of Karnataka till his last breath, even if he did not get the required mandate.

On Friday, the Supreme Court while hearing a petition of the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance reduced the 15-day original time given by Governor Vala to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to prove its majority in the house and asked the party to hold the trust vote on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The top court on Saturday quashed the Congress-JD (S) petition to remove K.A. Bopaiah as pro-tem speaker ahead of the floor test and appoint the senior most legislator R.V. Deshmukh in his place. The apex court also ordered a live broadcast of the floor test to ensure transparency of proceedings.