The Hindu : Karnataka News : Dharam Singh to be sworn in CM today

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 28, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Dharam Singh to be sworn in CM today

By Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI, MAY 27. The Karnataka Congress Legislature Party leader, Dharam Singh, will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of the State on Friday. Along with him, the leader of the Janata Dal (Secular), Siddaramaiah, will be sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister.

This was announced here late tonight by the central leadership of the two parties after the JD(S) president, H.D. Deve Gowda, met the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. The Council of Ministers will be sworn in at a later date after the two parties decide on the portfolios.

Sources said the Maharashtra model of coalition governance would be replicated in Karnataka with the JD(S) getting more Ministries, including the key portfolios of Home, Finance and Power. The post of Speaker in the Assembly is also likely to go to the party.

S. Rajendran reports from Bangalore:

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President, B. Janardhana Poojary, who is New Delhi, will arrive by the first flight on Friday and meet the Governor, T.N. Chatruvedi, to stake claim for the formation of a Congress-led Government with the support of the JD(S). If required, Mr. Dharam Singh will also meet the Governor with the letter of support from Mr. Siddaramaiah. They will request the Governor to schedule the swearing-in ceremony between 1 p.m. and 1.30 p.m.

The two parties have to first intimate the Governor on the understanding between them and then stake their claim to form the government. Sources told The Hindu that the Congress was in touch with the Raj Bhavan seeking information on the availability of the Governor to stake its claim for the formation of the government.

It was said that there would be a delay in the swearing-in of the Ministers as the list had to be finalised by the two parties taking into consideration the demands of various regions and the caste factor.

There was, however, the likelihood of some senior leaders such as M. Mallikarjuna Kharge, H.K. Patil, R.V. Deshpande and D.K. Shivakumar of the Congress and P.G.R. Sindhia and M.P. Prakash of the JD(S) also being sworn-in along with the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister.

The understanding between the two parties was clinched following the talks between Mr. Dharam Singh and Mr. Gowda in New Delhi. This was later followed up with another round of discussions between the Congress general secretary and party observer for Karnataka, Vilas Rao Deshmukh, Political Secretary to the Congress president, Ahmed Patel, and Mr. Dharam Singh and Mr. Gowda.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister-designate called on Ms. Gandhi, who is said to have asked him to hold talks with the former Prime Minister and clinch the tie-up.

The 15-day talks between the leaders of the two parties had turned into an ordeal for both the parties, particularly their second-line leaders and JD(S) workers.

The Congress, however, was firm on its stand that its nominee should be the Chief Minister, though it agreed to concede some major portfolios in the Ministry to the JD(S).

Till late in the evening, Mr. Siddaramaiah, an aspirant for the Chief Minister's post, refused to budge from his stand though he was offered a Union Cabinet post if he did not want to be the Deputy Chief Minister. Subsequently, H.D. Kumaraswamy, youngest son of Mr. Gowda, convinced him to accept the position.

It was said that the Speaker would also be from the JD(S), while the Deputy Speaker would be from the Congress. The sources said that the Congress and the JD(S) would have an equal number of Ministers.

JD(S) sources said Mr. Siddaramaiah would also be in charge of Finance and Excise portfolios and Mr. Sindha was likely to be the Home Minister. They said Mr. Prakash would head the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Ministry.

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