BENGALURU — Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Sonia Gandhi and Bahaman Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati walked hand-in-hand even as the two leaders hugged each other during the swearing-in ceremony of H.D. Kumaraswamy as Karnataka chief minister.
The opposition bonhomie was on display as Congress president Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri, NCP leader Sharad Pawar were seen together on a stage, during the event which is being projected as a show of strength by non-BJP parties.
Former JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, RLD chief Ajit Singh, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan were also present in the ceremony.
What grabbed attention was the way Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati met on stage. For a moment, the UPA chairperson had rested her head on Mayawati's head while other leaders were looking at both of them.
And also when Akhilesh Yadav sat next to the BSP supremo after the two waved at the gathering during the event. Both arch-rivals have recently struck an alliance in Uttar Pradesh which resulted in heavy loss to the BJP in Lok Sabha bypolls on two important seats.
Kumaraswamy was sworn in as the Karnataka chief minister at the head of a JDS-Congress coalition government. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala at a grand ceremony in the Vidhana Soudha complex. State Congress chief and prominent Dalit leader G. Parameshwara took oath as the deputy chief minister.
The show of strength by a galaxy of national leaders and regional satraps is being seen as a strong signal to the BJP about the possibility of formation of a broad-based front to take on the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls next year.
The BJP boycotted the ceremony and observed a "Black Day" during which it held statewide protests against the new coalition government, which it called "unholy". — Agencies
