Siddaramaiah dons the Chief Ministerial mantle

Congress'A Siddaramaiah was sworn in as the 22nd Chief Minister of Karnataka today after the party's thumping victory in the state assembly polls. The 64-year-old Congress Leader was sworn in by Governor H R Bharadwaj at Bangalore's Kanteerava Stadium amidst a massive crowd of over 50,000 people. Most of the audience poured in fromA Siddaramaiah's Mysore district and nearby areas. Other Congress stalwarts who attended the ceremony were Union Minister Veerappa Moily and Maharasthra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. The Congress tasted a huge victory in the polls winning 121 seats in the 224-member assembly after the BJP faced a drubbing largely due to corruption allegations and infighting within the party. The BJP eventually ended up being a distant second winner garnering 40 seats equalling the JD(S). Siddaramaiah was chosen as the Chief Ministerial candidate by the party high command on Friday, edging out party veteran and Union Labour Minister M Mallikarjuna Kharge. He has been Deputy Chief Minister twice before and has presented seven Budgets in the state. Siddaramaiah joined the Congress in 2006 after he walked out from the JD(S) after being ousted from the party . Mr Siddaramaiah hails from the Kuruba community which is the third largest in Karnataka. Born on August 12, 1948 at Siddaramanahundi, a village in Mysore district, Mr Siddaramaiah hails from a shepherd community. He graduated from Mysore University with a B.Sc. degree and later got his law degree from the same university. The new Chief Minister, along with state Congress chief G Parameshwara, is expected to meet the Congress high command in Delhi later this evening to discuss his new Cabinet.