Amid the suspense over the name of the next Chief Minister of Karnataka, the swearing-in ceremony is likely to take place on May 18. According to reports, the Congress party will finalize the name in a day or two while the legislature party is likely to send its recommendation to the party's high command by tonight. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has already said that the party high command will take the final call based on the recommendation of the CLP. While Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar and former CM Siddaramaiah are the front runners in the CM race, the Congress is considering multiple formulas so as to dispel any rebellion. 


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According to a report by NDTV, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka will be in attendance during the oath-taking ceremony besides senior party leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge. The Congress is likely to invite like-minded parties to attend the event.


Congress has won 135 seats while the BJP could only win 66 seats in the 224-member Karnataka assembly. Of this, DK Shivakumar is said to have the support of 68 MLAs while 59 MLAs are reported to be with the Siddaramaiah. Eight MLAs are with G Parameshwara.


According to ABP Hindi, Siddaramaiah is ahead because of his popularity and social mass base. If Siddaramaiah is again made CM, then the Congress is likely to go with 3 deputy CMs - DK Shivakumar from the Vokkaliga community, MB Patil from the Lingayat community and G Parameshwara from the Dalit community are possible names. It's also possible that only DK Shivakumar will be made the deputy CM. The Congress may also go with a rotational CM policy under which DKS and Siddaramaiah will share the post for 2.5 years each. In case DK Shivakumar is made full-time Chief Minister, then Siddaramaiah will be either given a Deputy CM post or will be given important portfolios. 


The Congress Legislative Party will take the views of all MLAs and share the same with the party's high command. While Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are likely to take a final call, party president Kharge's opinion will also be taken into consideration. Congress General Secretaries Sushil Kumar Shinde, Deepak Babaria and Jitendra Singh Alwar have been appointed as the observers of the Karnataka CLP meeting and they will report to Kharge after the meeting.