After the Siddaramaiah-led Congress administration took office in the state, the maiden session of the 16th Karnataka Legislative Assembly convened on Monday to administer oaths to all newly elected MLAs.
All 224 newly elected lawmakers will take their oaths as MLAs during the three-day session, which will also witness the election of a new Speaker, according to Legislative Assembly authorities.
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and R Ashoka, who ran against him, were spotted shaking hands with deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar.
MLAs are now taking their oaths of office in the Assembly, which is being presided over by Congress’ R. V. Deshpande, the Protem Speaker. The first few MLAs to take the oath of office were Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Ministers G Parameshwara, K H Muniyappa, M B Patil, K J George, Satish Jarkiholi, and Priyank Kharge.
Deshpande opened the meeting by stating, “We have all been elected and come here with the support of the people of Karnataka. I can notice some fresh faces as well as some top executives. We must work hard to ensure the state’s overall growth.
In spite of political disagreements, he said, “we will all have to work together for the sake of the state’s development and progress to build a model Kannada naadu, a Kannada state, which is prosperous and in which all sections of the population live in peace and harmony.”
On Saturday, Siddaramaiah was sworn in for a second term as chief minister, along with state congressman D K Shivakumar as deputy chief minister and eight lawmakers as ministers.
After the first cabinet meeting on Saturday, the Chief Minister said, “We are calling the Assembly session for three days — Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we are requesting the Governor, because the new Assembly has to be constituted before May 24.”
The Congress won a resounding victory in the 224-member Assembly’s elections on May 10 by winning 135 seats, while the incumbent BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular), headed by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, won 66 and 19 seats,
