Ahead of swearing-in, Kumaraswamy to meet Sonia, Rahul in Delhi tomorrow

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday said he will meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to discuss the modalities of government formation.

JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy. Photo: PTI

BENGALURU: JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday said he will meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to discuss the modalities of government formation. "I'm visiting New Delhi tomorrow...I will meet Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the party's senior leader Sonia Gandhi," Kumaraswamy said. He also asserted that within 24 hours of taking oath, he would prove the majority on the floor of the House. "Mostly on Wednesday there will be oath-taking ceremony after that on Thursday we will complete the process of Speaker's election and trust vote," he added

Tomorrow I will be going to Delhi, where I will meet Sonia ji and Rahul ji. We will decide about cabinet expansion. I will discuss everything with them on how to give a stable government for the next 5 years: HD Kumaraswamy, #Karnataka CM designate pic.twitter.com/f4H4mgaZhP

— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2018

Asked about reports on power-sharing formula of 30 months each that is being worked out with the Congress, Kumaraswamy said, "No such talks have taken place." Kumaraswamy has invited Congress leaders, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to attend his swearing-in ceremony on May 23. B S Yeddyurappa had on Saturday stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly as the BJP fell short of numbers, following which Kumaraswamy was invited to form the government by Governor Vajubhai Vala. The JD-S (36) and Congress (78) alliance has 117 members in the House. With the support of three others, Kumaraswamy has 6 more than the required 111 halfway mark, excluding the Speaker to prove a majority in the House. This is the second time Kumaraswamy, the son of JD-S supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, will be the Chief Minister of the southern state, 12 years after the JD-S formed a coalition government with the BJP on February 4, 2006 and remained in office for 20 months till October 9, 2007. (With inputs from Agencies)