Bengaluru

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Saturday formally invited senior Congress leader D. K. Shivakumar to form the next government in the state following his election as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP).

According to officials, the swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to be held on June 3 at 4:05 pm at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru.

The invitation was extended after Shivakumar submitted a letter to the Governor earlier in the day, staking claim to form the government after receiving the unanimous backing of Congress legislators.

In an official communication issued by Raj Bhavan, Governor Gehlot invited Shivakumar and the members of his proposed Council of Ministers to take the oath of office on the scheduled date.

Earlier on Saturday, the Congress Legislature Party meeting held at Vidhana Soudha unanimously elected Shivakumar as its new leader.

Outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah proposed Shivakumar's name for the position, while senior Congress leader G. Parameshwara endorsed the proposal. The resolution was subsequently adopted without opposition.

Later, Congress general secretary K. C. Venugopal officially announced Shivakumar's selection as the CLP leader and confirmed that he would be sworn in as Karnataka's next Chief Minister.

The political transition follows Siddaramaiah's resignation from the chief minister's post on May 28. He had stated that the decision was taken voluntarily after consultations with the party leadership.

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The Congress government in Karnataka recently completed three years in office, and discussions are currently underway regarding the composition of the new Council of Ministers that will be inducted alongside Shivakumar.