Siddu sworn in

As decided by his wife Parvathi, Siddaramaiah, 64, took oath exactly at 11.40am, swearing on 'truth'. Governor H R Bhardwaj administered the oath and office of secrecy in front of a crowd of nearly 1 lakh. The entire ceremony was completed within five minutes.
The stadium was chosen as the venue instead of Raj Bhavan or the steps of Vidhana Soudha to avoid the ongoing Bangalore Metro work in front of the state secretariat.
Sporting a white silk dhoti, shirt and shawl, Siddaramaiah's grand show at the stadium marked the return of the administration to the hands of the Congress, after more than seven years. The overflowing crowd shouted slogans, hailing him as the saviour of the backward classes and other weaker sections. As the national anthem was played before the start of the ceremony, Siddaramaiah signalled to them to be silent.
People started congregating at the stadium, located in the heart of the city early Monday morning. With strict security in place, there was chaos only in and the around the stadium. Police barricades at every step obstructed the entry of people, including those with VIP passes. Many MLAs, former ministers and other important dignitaries found it difficult to enter the stadium.
Maharashtra chief minister Prithiviraj Chavan, Union minister Mallikarjun M Kharge, whom Siddaramaiah pipped in the race for chief ministership, M Veerappa Moily, K H Muniyappa and K Rahman Khan, besides Congress general secretaries Madhusudan Mistry, in-charge of Karnataka affairs, Oscar Fernandes and B K Hariprasad were present. Former external affairs minister S M Krishna, AICC leader Luizinho Faleiro and KPCC president G Parameshwara were also present.
The event was attended by wellknown litterateurs G Venkatasubbaiah, Jnanpith awardees Girish Karnad and Chandrashekar Kambar, writers S G Siddaramaiah, M M Kalburgi and Chandrashekar Patil. Siddaramaiah called on freedom fighter H S Doreswamy at the latter's residence in Jayanagar 4T Block, before taking oath.