Cong bags Karnataka speaker's post ahead of Kumaraswamy floor test: Updates

Turmoil over government formation in Karnataka will end soon with newly sworn-in Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy facing a floor test in Bengaluru on Friday to prove his majority. While Kumaraswamy should sail through smoothly with the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition's support behind him, two possible irritants for the health of his government have already emerged.

One of the possible threats Kumaraswamy faces is from a repeat of Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) 'Operation Kamala', while the other has emerged from his coalition partner, the Congress, which has said that no decision has been taken on the full extent of his tenure as chief minister.

The coalition, however, received a major boost ahead of the floor test on Friday. Congress leader K R Ramesh Kumar was unanimously elected as Speaker of the house after BJP withdrew its leader Suresh Kumar's candidature for the post.

Kumaraswamy was sworn in at a grand assembly of Opposition and regional leaders, hailing from parties looking to form a joint front against the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, on Wednesday.

Had to swallow bitterness: Karnataka Cong leader on JD(S) alliance; updates

Senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar on Monday said he had to swallow bitterness that he had with Janata Dal (Secular) in order to give Karnataka a secular government. He said it was party president Rahul Gandhi's decision that there should be a secular government in the state.

He, however, refused to comment on the alliance's chances of completing the full term, saying the party had various issues and options before it.

Some media reports have indicated resentment within the Congress over its alliance with the JD(S). The reports, however, have been trashed by JD(S) leader and CM-designate H D Kumaraswamy.

Shivakumar's statements reflect the Congress' new compromising attitude to stitch together a broad alliance for taking on the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming polls.

After the Karnataka election result, the party decided to play second fiddle to a smaller outfit, the JD(S) in the southern state, receiving accolades from several regional parties.