Karnataka: Rahul Gandhi clears list, 20 leaders to take oath as ministers today

Bengaluru: The Congress high command on Monday cleared the induction of 20 ministers into the Karnataka Cabinet, enabling Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to complete the expansion of his ministry two months after assuming office.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to be held at 4.05 pm at Lok Bhavan. With the induction, the 34-member Council of Ministers will be at full strength ahead of the Karnataka legislature's session beginning August 13.

Also read: Karnataka cabinet expansion: DK Shivakumar inducts B Nagendra, Zameer Khan, Rizwan Arshad among 20 new ministers


The move ends days of uncertainty over the Cabinet expansion, which had been delayed amid consultations within the Congress high command over regional, caste and factional representation. The final list was approved by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and communicated to the CM by AICC general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal.

The new ministers are: PM. Narendraswamy, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Rudrappa Lamani, KS. Basavanthappa, B. Nagendra, T. Raghumoorthy, BZ. Zameer Ahmed Khan, Rizwan Arshad, Santosh Lad, Madhu Bangarappa, Putturangashetty, Mankala Vaidya, Dr Ajay Singh, N. Chaluvaraya Swamy, KM. Shivalinge Gowda, HC. Balakrishna, Gayathri Shanthegowda, Basavaraj Rayareddi, Vijayanand Kashappanavar and Laxman Savadi.

New presiding officers

The Congress leadership also approved Ron MLA GS. Patil as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and Virajpet MLA AS. Ponnanna as Deputy Speaker.

Senior MLC Saleem Ahmed will succeed Basavaraj Horatti as Chairman of the Legislative Council, while Umashree will be the Deputy Chairperson.

Balancing regional and caste equations

The expanded ministry reflects the party's attempt to balance regional, community and factional interests. The new team includes seven Lingayat leaders, including the Speaker, and six Vokkaliga leaders.

Several ministers from the previous Siddaramaiah government have been dropped. They include R.B. Timmapur (Boseraju), H.K. Patil, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Rahim Khan, M.C. Sudhakar, K. Venkatesh, H.C. Mahadevappa, Laxmi Hebbalkar, Sharanabasappa Darshanapur and Shivanand Patil.

The expansion had originally been planned about 10 days ago but was deferred as Rahul Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders were occupied with political developments in Delhi.

Shivakumar took oath as Chief Minister on June 3 along with 13 ministers, leaving 20 Cabinet berths vacant. With Monday's expansion, the Congress government has filled all vacancies in the Cabinet.