AMN / BENGALURU
After days of serious deliberations and hectic lobbying, H D Kumaraswamy ministry in Karnataka was expanded on Wednesday with the induction of 25 ministers.
Fourteen ministers are from the Congress, nine from its ruling coalition partner Janata Dal (Secular) or JD (S) and one each from the Bahujan Samaj Party and the KPJP.
Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan.
H D Revanna, son of former prime minister and JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, and state senior Congress leaders D K Shivakumar were among those who took the oath.
JD (S) leader G T Deve Gowda, who had emerged as a giant killer defeating former chief minister Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru in the assembly polls was also inducted. Congress MLC Jayamala was the lone woman minister.
Under the power sharing arrangement, Congress will have 22 ministers and the JDS 12. With today’s expansion, the strength of the ministry has gone up to 27, leaving seven more vacancies to be filled.
Kumaraswamy had taken oath as chief minister and Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara as deputy chief minister on May 23.
JD(S)’ S R Srinivas- legislator from Gubbi will be a minister in the new cabinet. Congress has chosen prominent ST face Ramesh Jarkiholi over his brother Satish- who was instrumental in Siddaramaiah’s win in Badami seat. Venkatrao Nadagouda- JD(S) legislator from Sindhanur has been chosen over senior MLC Basavraj Horatti. Former IT&BT minister Priyank Kharge was inducted into the new cabinet. JD(S)’ strongman in Mandya C S Puttaraju- who resigned from his MP post after winning from Melukote seat- was sworn in as a minister on Wednesday. U T Khader- the sole Congress legislator from Dakshin Kannada, Sa Ra Mahesh of the JD(S), B J Zameer Ahmed Khan- who quit the JD(S) to join the Congress was inducted in a cabinet led by H D Kumaraswamy. He was the sole minister to take oath in English. N Mahesh- the sole legislator of BSP took oath in the name of Buddha, Basava and Dr B R Ambedkar.
Shivanand Patil, a prominent Lingayat face from Basavana Bagewadi who the BJP allegedly tried to poach was also sworn in as a minister. Venkataramanappa- MLA from Pavagada, Rajashekhar Patil from Humnabad- another legislator that the BJP allegedly tried to poach was also inducted into the cabinet. Puttaranga Shetty- MLA from Chamarajanagara, R Shankar- an independent who defeated former Legislative assembly speaker and Congress leader K B Koliwad took oath as ministers. Congress MLC Jayamala Ramachandra- is the sole woman in the cabinet.
“There are many more eligible candidates and they will be considered. We have to take everyone forward. Things are still open and this is just the first phase of the expansion,” said D K Shivakumar giving hopes to aspirants left out from Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony. Out of the 34 cabinet berths in the government, the Congress has 22 berths while JD(S) has 12 in their kitty according to the coalition partners’ power-sharing formula.
NEW MINISTERS OF KARNATAKA GOVERNMENT
S. No. Name Party
1 D K Shivakumar Congress
2 R V Deshpande Congress
3 K J George Congress
4 Krishna Byre Gowda Congress
5 Rajashekar Patil Congress
6 Shivanand Patil Congress
7 Priyanka Kharge Congress
8 U T Khadar Congress
9 Zamir Ahmed Khan Congress
10 Puttaranga Shetty Congress
11 Shivashankara Reddy Congress
12 Jayamala Congress
13 Ramesh Jarkiholi Congress
14 Venkataramanappa Congress
15 H D Revanna JD (S)
16 G T Devegowda JD (S)
17 Bandappa Kashampur JD (S)
18 C S Puttaraju JD (S)
19 Venkatrao Nadagowda JD (S)
20 SA RA Mahesh JD (S)
21 DC Thammanna JD (S)
22 MC Managuli JD (S)
23 SR Srinivas JD (S)
24 R Shankar KPJP
25 Mahesh BSP