Soon after taking oath as the Karnataka chief minister, Siddaramaiah said on Saturday that his government will issue an order to implement the “five guarantees” promised by the Congress party during the election campaign.
Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar were sworn in as the chief minister and the deputy CM, respectively, while eight MLAs, too, were sworn in as ministers.
“The five guarantees will be passed in the cabinet meeting and an order will be issued to implement them today itself," he said, adding that his government will give an administration as expected by the people of Karnataka.
The five promises
- 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti)
- Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi)
- 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya)
- Rs 3,000 every month for unemployed graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for unemployed diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi)
- Free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti)
Siddaramaiah thanked people for bringing the Congress party to power in the state in the May 10 Assembly elections. He also thanked Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other senior leaders who campaigned for the party in the state.
The Congress stormed to power after winning 135 seats while the BJP was reduced to 66 seats. The JD(S) managed bag only 19 seats.
The election victory was, however, followed by an intense power struggle between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar with both leaders staking claim to the chief minister post. The impasse ended after more than four days of prolonged parleys involving party's central leaders and the intervention of senior leader Sonia Gandhi, with Shivakumar agreeing to settle for the deputy CM post.
