Karnataka CM oath ceremony: A look at invitees as Oppn set to unite at 'historical' event

The Congress is in no mood to let go of the opportunity to showcase the power of opposition’s unity at the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka’s new chief minister. This is the reason why a long list of prominent leaders from not only the Congress, but from various other parties including the likes of Sharad Pawar, Nitish Kumar, MK Stalin, Uddhav Thackeray and others have been included in the invitation list. Apart from the oath-taking ceremony of Karnataka CM-designated Siddaramaiah and deputy CM-designated DK Shivakumar, the opposition will use the event to give a strong message on opposition’s strength ahead of 2024 general elections.  

According to the reports, the Congress Party has prepared a list of leaders, who have been invited in the oath-taking ceremony of Karnataka CM, which is slated to take place on May 20. The list, however, doesn’t include the name of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (TMC) and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik (BJD), but it is being said that they are likely to join the event. The party is claiming that the event, which will mark the presence of top political leaders from across the country on one stage, is going to be historical. 

Congress claims that they have invited like-minded politicians

Congress leaders to mark their presence
During the event, almost all the big names from the party are likely to present at the swearing-in ceremony in Karnataka. Apart from the names of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu among others will be present on the occasion. 

CM of other parties
Apart from the chief ministers of the Congress party, the CMs from other political parties have also been invited to join the event. This includes the names of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (JDU), Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin (DMK), Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren (JMM), and Puducherry CM N Rangaswamy (AINRC). 

Other opposition leaders
NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah (J&K National Conference), PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, Tejashvi Yadav (RJD), and CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury and D Raja have also been reportedly invited to mark their presence at the occasion. In addition to this, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav is expected to be present at the ceremony. 

Leaders not invited
Surprisingly, leaders from various other political parties, who claim to play a big political role in the opposition’s unity have reportedly not yet been invited by the Congress. The list of uninvited leaders is quite surprising, as it consists the names of Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao (BRS), Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Andhra CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan (CPIM).

The Congress has said that the party has invited like-minded political leaders at the ceremony, who are likely to give strength to the opposition’s unity. Notably, the Congress with 135 seats, registered a thumping victory in the recently concluded assembly elections in the state of Karnataka, and ousted the BJP from power.