D K Shivakumar was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at 4.05 PM on 3 June 2026 at the Glass House of Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru becoming the 25th Chief Minister of Karnataka. Shivakumar took the oath invoking the name of Veera Gangadhara Ajjayya the family deity of his Vokkaliga community marking a politically significant moment that combined leadership transition with personal faith. The ceremony followed the formal resignation of Siddaramaiah on 29 May 2026 under the mid term power sharing agreement reached at the formation of the Congress government in May 2023.

Senior leader G Parameshwara a Dalit face from the Tumakuru region was sworn in as the new Deputy Chief Minister to balance the social arithmetic of the cabinet. Thirteen other Members of the Legislative Assembly took oath as ministers namely Satish Jarkiholi K H Muniyappa Priyank Kharge Krishna Byre Gowda U T Khader Yathindra Siddaramaiah M B Patil K J George Ramalinga Reddy Sharan Prakash Patil Eshwar Khandre and Byrathi Suresh. Outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah witnessed the swearing in alongside Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge AICC General Secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala and Chief Ministers of other Congress ruled states underscoring the high political stakes for the party ahead of the 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections.