Congress leader G Parameshwara to be Karnataka deputy chief minister

NEW DELHI: After days of hectic parleying, the Congress and JD(S) have decided on

G Parameshwara

as the deputy chief minister of Karnataka.


"Party president Rahul Gandhi has approved the name of Parameshwara for the deputy chief minister post in the coalition government," AICC general secretary in Karnataka

KC Venugopal

told reporters Tuesday evening.

Parameshwara, president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), will take oath as deputy CM a longside chief minister-designate and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy at 4:30 pm in front of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Wednesday.



Congress party's KR Ramesh Kumar, a former minister, will be the next Speaker, while the deputy Speaker's post will go to the JD(S).



Emerging from a meeting of Congress and JD(S) leaders to discuss the power-sharing arrangement between the two post-poll allies, Venugopal said the 34-member state cabinet will have 22 ministers from the Congress and 12 from the JD(S).

"Out of 34 ministries, 22 ministries will go with Congress Party and 12 ministries, including CM will be with be with JD(S). Portfolio allocation to be decided after floor test (on Thursday)," he added.

He also said that a joint coordination committee with members from both parties will be set up in the next couple of days.



As a Dalit leader, Parameshwara was a front runner for the deputy chief minister's post, though reports said there was growing demand from party leaders in north Karnataka that the position be given to a Lingayat from the region.

DK Shivakumar, a strong Vokkaliga leader and considered an arch rival of the Gowda family, was also a prime contender for the deputy CM post.

Speaking to PTI on Tuesday, Parameshwara had said "difficult times were ahead" for the Congress-JD(S) coalition but the alliance had been necessary to prevent the BJP from coming to power in Karnataka.

The need to keep communal forces at bay in the southern state made the Congress lend support to JD(S), Parameshwara said.

With the fall of BJP's three-day-old government in Karnataka, H D Kumaraswamy heading the Congress-JD(S) coalition is set to become the chief minister for a second time on May 23.

Governor Vajubhai Vala invited Kumaraswamy, who is the leader of Congress-JD(S) joint legislature party, to form the government.

Kumaraswamy said Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, BSP supremo Mayawati, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana chief minister Chandrashekar Rao and several other regional leaders will be attending the swearing-in ceremony.

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