Siddaramaiah will be sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka for the second term today, along with the Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar as the Deputy Chief Minister. Congress chief M Mallikarjun Kharge has invited leaders of several like-minded parties for the swearing-in ceremony, which will see Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administering the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister and his Cabinet at 12.30 PM at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. The venue is the same place Mr Siddaramaiah took oath in 2013, when he became Chief Minister for the first time.

The event may turn out to be a show of strength for opposition parties amid unity efforts to take on the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, in Delhi, when reporters asked how many opposition party leaders would attend the swearing-in, Mr Shivakumar said, "That we have requested our AICC president to take care of, for us, first is the Congress president and the Gandhi family, we are here to invite them personally." The Congress on Thursday named Mr Siddaramaiah as the next Chief Minister and state PCC chief Mr Shivakumar, a strong contender for the top post, as his only deputy, ending the tense deadlock after prolonged parleys involving its central leadership.