Bharatiya Janata Party leader B S Yeddyurappa will take oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka on Monday.
He will be the first BJP chief minister in South India. Karnataka will however have to wait another week until the government becomes entirely functional, as the rest of the ministers in the cabinet are expected to take oath only a week later. The chief minister will be sworn in by Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur at the Vidhan Soudha, where preparations are already underway.
BJP state president Sadananda Gowda said on Monday only the chief minister and the deputy chief minister will be sworn in. Following this the BJP led coalition will prove their majority on the floor of the house.
After this the ministers will be sworn in he said.
Meanwhile, it is almost certain that former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy will take oath as the deputy chief minister of state. Sources in the JD-S said that his brother Revanna will have to pave the way as he did not enjoy the support of the all the MLAs.
The JD-S and the BJP feel that only Kumaraswamy will be able to provide stability to the government and ensure that it lasts the remaining 19 months. A final call on this will be taken at the crucial Janata Dal-S legislature party meeting to be held on Sunday at 11 AM. During the meeting the JD-S MLAs will try and convince both Prakash and Revanna to join the government. While Revanna is expected to join the government if he given a good portfolio, Prakash maintains that he will work for the party instead.
The BJP too is expected to hold a series of meetings on Sunday to discuss on the portfolios. Sources indicated that most of the faces in the BJP will remain unchanged.
The major exclusion is likely to be that of Sriramulu, who according to the JD-S is the reason behind all the trouble both the parties had to face.
