BENGALURU: Sixty-four-year-old Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar (DK Shivakumar) was sworn in as the 18th Chief Minister of Karnataka on Wednesday. The eight-time MLA, along with 13 other senior legislators, took oath at the ceremony held at the Glass House in Karnataka's Lok Bhavan.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader G Parameshwara was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister. Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy in the presence of hundreds of attendees.
Shivakumar took oath in the name of Veera Gangadhara Ajjayya. Before taking the oath, he bowed to the gathering and offered floral tributes to Ajjayya. Holding a copy of the Indian Constitution, Shivakumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.
Senior legislators 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 also took oath.
While UT Khader and Dr Yathindra were newly inducted, the rest served as ministers in Siddaramaiah's cabinet previously. Of them, four legislators are from Bengaluru.
The Glass House was decked up in red and yellow, reflecting the colours of the Karnataka flag. The dais was positioned facing East, considered auspicious, as per the 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, who had assembled for the swearing-in ceremony. While some of them showered him with petals, others gave him 'rudraksha malas', as a mark of blessings and goodwill.
Shivakumar was dressed in a beige silk jubba and a shawl featuring the tricolour of the Congress party. He wore a 'rudraksha mala' around his neck and had sacred ash applied on his forehead. Shivakumar was seen greeting dignitaries before taking the oath. Shivakumar's wife Usha, daughter Aisshwarya DKS Hegde and other family members were present.
Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, outgoing CM Siddaramaiah, former CM Veerappa Moily, AICC General Secretary (Karnataka in-charge) Randeep Singh Surjewala, AICC general secretary (org) and Rajya Sabha member KC Venugopal, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Kerala CM V D Satheesan, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and others attended the ceremony.
Among the dignitaries who attended the swearing-in ceremony were Chief Justice of Karnataka Vibhu Bakhru, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and his wife Sudha Murty, a Rajya Sabha member; Nirmalanandanatha Swami of Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math, Karnataka State Cricket Association president Venkatesh Prasad, former Indian cricketers Mohammed Azharuddin, Anil Kumble, noted actor Dhananjaya, music directors Arjun Janya and Gurukiran and actor-turned-politician Ramya.
