With the fall of the three-day-old Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka, Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, who heads the Congress-JD(S) coalition, is all set to take oath as the new chief minister on May 23.
On Saturday, Governor Vajubhai Vala invited Kumaraswamy to form the government soon after BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa announced his resignation as chief minister without facing the trust vote.
According to reports, Congress will have 20 and JD(S) will have 13 ministers in the new government.
Reports suggest that Kumaraswamy is likely to keep the finance ministry. Congress leader G. Parameshwara is expected to become the deputy chief minister.
Out of the 222 seats to which elections were held, BJP bagged 104 seats to emerge as the single largest party. Congress was reduced to 78 seats while the JD(S) won 37 constituencies.
Congress announced a surprise post-poll alliance with JD(S) even before three-fourth of the results were announced, in a clear move to keep BJP out of power.
Kumaraswamy had on Saturday said the swearing-in ceremony would take place tentatively between 12 and 1.50 pm at Kanteerava stadium on May 21. However, he later in the evening said the swearing-in would be held on May 23 as May 21 happens to be the death anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and therefore it would not be appropriate to hold the ceremony on that date. Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in 1991.
The JD(S)-Congress alliance claims the support of 117 members.