Bengaluru/IBNS: Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot Thursday invited CM-designate Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM-designate DK Shivakumar to take oath along with team members.

The oath ceremony will take place at 12.30 pm on May 20 in Kanteerava Stadium.

Earlier Congress delegation, including CM-designate Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM-designate DK Shivakumar, met Gehlot at Raj Bhavan to stake claim to form the next government. He staked claim after the Congress legislature party formally elected him as its leader.

Plans are afoot to turn the May 20 swearing-in ceremony into a show of unity of the Opposition parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The party has extended invitations to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar among others from like-minded parties.

Before the Congress Legislature Party meeting, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar received a grand reception in Bengaluru as a large gathering of Congress workers played music and showered flower petals welcoming them.

The meeting which was held at Bharat Jodo Bhavan elected Siddaramaiah as its leader and Shivakumar as his deputy.

The impasse over government formation was solved after four days of intense deliberations and marathon meetings in Delhi as both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar vied for the top post.

Soon after the announcement of him taking over the top post in the state, Siddaramaiah said: "I will continue to relentlessly work to ensure justice to every Kannadiga and uphold the pride of Karnataka. We are committed to implementing our guarantees and giving the best for our state."

[With UNI inputs]