BENGALURU: Sixty-four-year-old Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar on Wednesday took the oath as the 18th chief minister of the state of Karnataka.
The swearing-in ceremony, held at the Glass House of Lok Bhavan, also saw Dr G Parameshwara taking the oath as the deputy chief minister, marking his second stint at that.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to Shivakumar and a council of 13 ministers, including Dr G Parameshwara, with the other 12 being KH Muniyappa, KJ George, MB Patil, Ramalinga Reddy, Sathish Jarakiholi, Krishna Byregowda, Priyank Kharge, UT Khader, Eshwar Khandre, Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah, Byrathi Suresh and Sharan Prakash Patil.
However their portfolios are yet to be allotted, while the list of additional ministers in the next phase is expected to be done after the June 18 polls to four Rajya Sabha seats of Karnataka and the biennial elections for seven MLC seats.
While UT Khader and Dr Yathindra are newly inducted ministers under Shivakumar, the rest have served as ministers in the former CM Siddaramaiah’s cabinet previously. Notably, four legislators representing Bengaluru made it to Shivakumar’s partial cabinet in the first phase, raising hopes for the city’s development.
Holding a copy of the Indian Constitution, Shivakumar took the oath in the name of his deity ‘Veera Gangadhara Ajjayya Swamy’ at 4.14 pm.
Before taking oath, he bowed before the gathering and offered floral tributes to Ajjayya’s portrait prominently present on the dais. Parameshwara, a Dalit face of the government, took oath in the name of Dr BR Ambedkar, architect of the Indian constitution, which evoked huge cheers from the gathering.
Shivakumar will now be the CM for the remaining term of one year and ten months ahead of the 2028 assembly polls.
After oath, DKS chairs first cabinet meet as CM
The Glass House was decked up in red and yellow, reflecting the colours of the Karnataka flag and the dais was positioned facing East – considered auspicious and done in accordance with Shivakumar’s astrologer’s advice. The backdrop of the dais featured the Vidhana Soudha.
Before proceeding to the dais, Shivakumar sought the blessings of various religious leaders representing different faiths who he had insisted on inviting, and who had assembled for the swearing-in ceremony. While some of them showered him with petals, others including Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt head Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji presented him with ‘rudraksha malas’ as a mark of blessings and goodwill.
Shivakumar bowed before AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge and former CM Siddaramaiah on the dais.
Later, at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar offered tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, 12th century social reformer Basavanna, the country’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr BR Ambedkar, and Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda, before entering the grand corridors of power after bowing down at the steps of Vidhana Soudha, and chairing the first cabinet meeting as chief minister of the state.
DKS MAKES BIG ANNOUNCEMENTS
FREE BUS PASS FOR ALL STUDENTS: Free bus travel for all students studying in government, private and even aided institutions, from school to postgraduate level. Applications for the scheme will be issued in the coming days. At present, only girl students are getting benefit because of the Shakti guarantee scheme.
ONLINE EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE: Government to launch an online employment portal to connect job seekers with private-sector employers and provide industry-specific skill training. Developed in consultation with industry bodies, the platform will function as an online employment exchange for sectors such as IT-BT, healthcare and hospitality. A certain percentage will be fixed for Kannadigas and this initiative is expected to take shape within a month.
10K YOUTH CLUBS: The government will set up 10,000 Bharat Jodo Youth Associations across the state to promote sports, culture and skill development. Each association will receive D10 lakh and have 150-200 youth members.
KHATA CONVERSION: The B Khata to A Khata conversion which is available in Bengaluru will be extended across the state.
ONE-TIME SETTLEMENT: The government is planning a one-time relief for buildings up to 2500 sqft without completion and occupancy certificates, enabling owners to secure water and electricity connections.
BETTER ROADS FOR BENGALURU: D2,000 crore to be allocated for road asphalting within Greater Bengaluru Authority and BDA limits and all roads will be covered within three to four months.