Following two days of back and forth, portfolios for 34 ministers in the Karnataka Cabinet were notified late night on 28 May.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah allocates portfolios to all the cabinet ministers on Saturday.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has drawn the curtains on the suspense surrounding the allocation of portfolios for the past week.
Late on Sunday, 28 May, a notification with allocation of portfolios for Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet was issued from the Governor’s office.
While 10 members of the Cabinet took oath earlier, 24 newly-inducted ministers took oath on Saturday, taking the cabinet strength to a full 34.
Keen on preparing and presenting budgets that are sure to be a tightrope walk to deliver on guarantees made by the Congress during the election campaign, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah kept the finance ministry with him.
Portfolios like Cabinet Affairs, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Intelligence, Information, and Infrastructure Development will also be with Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah will also keep the much-touted Information Technology and Biotechnology (IT & BT) portfolio.
The big-ticket portfolio had been contemplated to be given to Priyank Kharge or G Parameshwara during discussions over the last two days.
Several unofficial lists of portfolios had been making the rounds since Saturday, forcing the Congress to take to its social media handles to deny their authenticity.
On Sunday evening, an official list was released with the Governor’s nod.
Some of the ministers like Dr G Parameshwar, Ramalinga Reddy, Santosh Lad, RB Timmapur, and Zameer Ahmed Khan have got the portfolios that they held earlier.
After intense lobbying for portfolios, Shivakumar, who represents the Kanakapura Assembly seat, managed to get the portfolios he wished for.
Shivakumar, who is also the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, has been given the coveted Bengaluru Development portfolio – which has consistently been only with chief ministers in the recent past.
Continuing the previous BJP government’s practice, the Congress has bestowed the Bengaluru City Development portfolio to a minister who doesn’t represent any of the Assembly seats in the state capital.
He snagged the portfolio despite the presence of senior ministers — including Ramalinga Reddy, KJ George, Dinesh Gundu Rao and Krishna Byre Gowda — from Bengaluru City in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet.
Even under the BJP regime, chief ministers BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommmai themselves held the Bengaluru City Development, not entrusting it to any of the local MLAs.
In addition, he will also be the minister for Major and Medium Irrigation — the biggest chunk in Water Resources.
Shivakumar and MB Patil reportedly lobbied for the Major and Medium Irrigation Ministry.
However, Shivakumar had the last laugh as he got the portfolio of his desire. He held the same portfolio in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2018.
Ministers like Dr G Parameshwar, HK Patil, Dr HC Mahadevappa, Santosh Lad, Zameer Ahmed Khan, Ramalinga Reddy, and RB Timmapur have been given the portfolios they had previously held.
Parameshwar has been given the Home Ministry (excluding intelligence), which he held between 2015 and 2017. He represents the Koratagere (SC) Assembly segment.
Another senior Congress leader, HK Patil, who represents the Gadag seat, has been entrusted with Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Legislation and Tourism.
He held the Law and Parliamentary Affairs portfolio in the late former chief minister Dharam Singh’s Cabinet, and also managed various portfolios over time.
Santosh Lad has been entrusted with the Labour Ministry. He was the labour minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government in 2013. He won the Kalghtagi Assembly seat in 2023.
Senior leader and minister Ramalinga Reddy has been given the responsibility of the Transport Department. He has headed various ministries, including Home and Transport, in the past. He represents the BTM Layout seat. A miffed Ramalingam Reddy, unhappy with Transport portfolio, had met DK Shivakumar on Sunday afternoon. After hours of discussion, Reddy has also been placed as minister for Muzrai aka Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments ministry.
Senior Dalit leader Dr HC Mahadevappa has been allocated the Social Welfare Ministry. He previously held various this and other portfolios, including Public Works.
Minister RB Thimmapur, who represents the Mudhol Assembly seat, has been allotted the Excise portfolio. He was the Minister for Excise in the previous Siddaramaiah government in 2018.
Minister Priyank Kharge, who is the son of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, has been given the responsibility of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj. He previously held the IT & BT portfolio in the previous Congress government.
Zameer Ahmed Khan, who represents the Chamarajapet Assembly seat, has been given the Housing, Wakf, and Minorities welfare portfolio. He headed the Minorities Welfare Ministry in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2018.
Lingayat strongman and minister MB Patil has been given the responsibility of Large and Medium Industries.
He reportedly lobbied for the Major and Medium Irrigation portfolio as he had held it for a complete tenure (2013-2018) in Siddaramaiah’s regime. However, he didn’t get the portfolio as per his wishes.
The Babaleshwar MLA also served as the home minister in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2018.
Here is the list of which MLA got what portfolio:
Apr 24, 2024
Apr 24, 2024
Apr 24, 2024
Apr 24, 2024
Apr 24, 2024
Apr 24, 2024
