india

Updated: May 22, 2018 13:47 IST

JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in ceremony will be a show of strength by opposition parties. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will attend Kumaraswamy’s inauguration as the Karnataka chief minister on May 23.

The JD(S) has also invited BSP chief Mayawati and chief ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), V Narayanasamy (Puducherry), N Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), K Chandrasekhar Rao (Telangana), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), and Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi).

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury are also likely to attend.

A Congress functionary, familiar with the developments, said the function will be short as only a few leaders from both sides are expected to take the oath of office.

The full-fledged cabinet expansion, however, will take place after Kumaraswamy wins the floor test he is expected to take within 24 hours after being sworn-in as the chief minister for the second time in 12 years.

Kumaraswamy was invited by governor Vajubhai Vala to take power after the three-day BJP government collapsed last Saturday after Yeddyurappa, unable to muster the required number for a majority, stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the assembly.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung verdict with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats. The Congress was next with 78 and the JD(S) followed with 37. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents.