D.K. Shivakumar Sworn In as Chief Minister of Karnataka

The Congress government in Karnataka began a new chapter on June 3, 2026, when its eight-time MLA and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President, Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar, took the oath as the state's Chief Minister.

Amidst the confusion and opposition regarding the creation of the Deputy Chief Minister post within the party, senior Dalit leader G. Parameshwara, representing the Koratagere constituency in Tumakuru district, took the oath as Deputy Chief Minister.

Shivakumar, who led the Congress to victory in the 2023 elections as the KPCC chief, will serve a term of slightly less than two years before the next assembly elections.

D.K. Shivakumar's Oath

Shivakumar took the oath in the name of Veer Gangadhar Ajjayya. Before taking the oath, he bowed to the gathering and offered floral tributes to Ajjayya. Holding a copy of the Indian Constitution, Shivakumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Senior MLAs K.H. Muniyappa, K.J. George, M.B. Patil, Ramalinga Reddy, Satish Jarkiholi, Krishna Byre Gowda, Priyank Kharge, U.T. Khader, Eshwar Khandre, Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah, Byrathi Suresh, and Sharan Prakash Patil also took the oath.

While U.T. Khader and Dr. Yathindra were inducted for the first time, all the others had previously served as ministers in Siddaramaiah's cabinet. Four of these MLAs are from Bengaluru.

Karnataka Assembly Election Results

Assembly elections were held in Karnataka on May 10, 2023, to elect all 224 members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Votes were counted, and the results were declared on May 13, 2023.

The election saw a total voter turnout of 73.84%, the highest ever recorded in the history of Karnataka assembly elections.

The Indian National Congress achieved a spectacular victory by winning 135 seats; In terms of seat and vote share, this is their biggest victory in Karnataka since the 1989 elections.

Decisions by D.K. Shivakumar

Free bus passes for students in Karnataka, an employment exchange for private-sector jobs, the creation of 10,000 'Bharat Jodo Yuva' units with a grant of ₹10 lakh each, an allocation of ₹2,000 crore for Bengaluru's roads, and an opportunity to regularize partially legal properties in Karnataka—these are some of the initial decisions taken by the new Congress government led by D.K. Shivakumar.

Shivakumar announced these early decisions following a cabinet meeting held immediately after the swearing-in ceremony of the new Congress Chief Minister and his ministers.

Shivakumar claimed that in addition to the Congress government's six guarantees—which include free bus travel for women, a monthly allowance of ₹2,000 for a woman in BPL families, free electricity, free rice, and a stipend for educated youth—there would also be a "land guarantee."