NEW DELHI: Ahead of his swearing-in as the Karnataka chief minister, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to discuss the modalities of government formation.
Clarifying that no discussion has taken place so far on the allocation of ministerial berths, Kumaraswamy termed reports on the power-sharing formula of 30 months each between the parties as "bogus".
"I'm visiting New Delhi on Monday ... I will meet Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the party's senior leader Sonia Gandhi," he told reporters here.
Based on the outcome of discussions with them, a decision will be taken on the number of Congress and JD(S) MLAs who will become ministers, Kumaraswamy added.
Sources indicate that in a meeting Saturday night between Congress and JDS leader, it was agreed to constitute a coalition coordination committee and to draw a common minimum programme.
The swearing-in on May 23 is also going to serve as a show of opposition for non-BJP leaders across the country.
The Congress and JD-S alliance aim to project the win as a massive victory with opposition leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Chandrababu Naidu and others expected to attend.
The success of the Congress-JD(S) alliance in outpacing the BJP in Karnataka elections bodes well for opposition unity, with a chorus of regional voices hailing the Grand Old Party's decision to play second fiddle to a smaller outfit in the southern state.
Congratulatory messages poured in from the regions soon after BJP's BS Yeddyurappa, unable to garner the numbers required for a simple majority in the state Assembly, bowed out as chief minister, paving the way for a JD(S)-Congress government.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, among the first to call the developments a victory of the regional front.
Democracy wins. Congratulations Karnataka. Congratulations Deve Gowda ji, Kumaraswamy ji, Congress and others. Victory of the regional front', she said.
While an opposition leader felt the Congress would need to play a more gracious role in a grand alliance before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to keep the BJP and RSS out, senior CPI leader D Raja said the question of who would lead the front should be kept open.
Gandhi had ruffled some opposition feathers when, on the eve of the Karnataka elections, he had positioned himself as a prime ministerial candidate for the next LS polls if his party did well.
The BJP believes that it can make a comeback in Karnataka thanks to the inherent contradictions in the Congress-JD(S) alliance in the state.
"We may have lost the battle, but we will win the war," is how a party leader put it, referring to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.