DK Shivakumar to take oath as CM on June 3, 8-10 ministers may also be sworn in: Sources

Senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar will take oath as Karnataka's 25th Chief Minister on June 3 in Bengaluru, government sources said, days after Siddaramaiah resigned following months of speculation over a leadership change. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the Lok Bhavan Glass House and is expected to be attended by senior Congress leaders, cabinet colleagues, party workers and supporters from across the state.

Around eight to 10 ministers are expected to take oath along with the 64-year-old Shivakumar, while the remaining ministers could be sworn in after the Rajya Sabha elections on June 18, sources said. Shivakumar is expected to be formally elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party on Saturday, after which he will become Chief Minister-designate.

Shivakumar's appointment comes after Siddaramaiah stepped down following consultations with the Congress high command in Delhi. The transition is being seen as part of a leadership arrangement worked out by the party leadership. Ending months of intense speculation over a leadership change in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah resigned as Chief Minister on Thursday, clearing the way for his deputy Shivakumar to take over.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot accepted Siddaramaiah's resignation a day after the 77-year-old leader submitted it to the Governor's Special Secretary at Lok Bhavan in the Governor's absence. Gehlot was away from Bengaluru for personal reasons. The development marks the latest stage in a prolonged power tussle within the Karnataka Congress, with Shivakumar long seen as a contender for the top post since the party's victory in the 2023 Assembly polls.

At a breakfast meeting at his Bengaluru residence on Thursday, Siddaramaiah informed cabinet colleagues about his decision to step down and indicated that Shivakumar would succeed him in line with the Congress high command's directions, according to ministers present at the meeting. The Congress leadership had recently asked Siddaramaiah to facilitate a leadership transition, while also offering him a role at the national level along with a Rajya Sabha seat. However, sources said he has not accepted the proposed central role so far.

The leadership change follows days of consultations in Delhi. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were summoned by the Congress high command on Tuesday and held a series of meetings with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun

Kharge, and party general secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala. Speculation over a rotational chief minister arrangement had persisted since the Congress formed the government in Karnataka in 2023. Under the widely discussed formula, Siddaramaiah was expected to step down after completing two-and-a-half years in office, allowing Shivakumar to take charge for the rest of the term, though neither the party leadership nor Siddaramaiah had publicly acknowledged such an arrangement at the time. The rumours intensified after Siddaramaiah completed two-and-a-half years in office in November last year.

Amid the transition, Siddaramaiah, accompanied by his son Yathindra, met senior Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi on Friday, triggering speculation that Yathindra Siddaramaiah could find a place in the new Shivakumar-led cabinet. Several ministers from the outgoing Siddaramaiah government are also in Delhi amid discussions over cabinet formation and retention of portfolios, while some MLAs close to Shivakumar have also reached the capital to seek ministerial berths.

Sources said discussions between the Congress leadership, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar on Friday focused on the structure of the new cabinet, with indications that the reshuffle could include a mix of existing ministers and fresh faces.

With Shivakumar set to take oath on June 3 and a first batch of ministers likely to be sworn in alongside him, the Congress leadership is now finalising the transition in Karnataka after Siddaramaiah's resignation and the consultations held in Delhi on the new cabinet and leadership arrangement.