Meet the 8 first-time ministers in the Karnataka Cabinet led by Siddaramaiah

The Congress sprang a surprise by making Boseraju, in charge of the Telangana Congress unit, a minister. He is neither an MLA nor MLC. He had been an MLA twice and an MLC once.

ನೂತನ ಸಚಿವರಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಮಾಣ ವಚನ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸಿದ ಸಂಪುಟ ಸಹೋದ್ಯೋಗಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಹೃದಯಪೂರ್ವಕ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು.
ಒಂದು ಸರ್ಕಾರವಾಗಿ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಜನರ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಅಂತಃಕರಣದಿಂದ ಸ್ಪಂದಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ನಮ್ಮ ಮೇಲಿನ ನಂಬಿಕೆ ಮತ್ತು ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆಯನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಪ್ರಾಮಾಣಿಕ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡೋಣ.

ನಿಮ್ಮ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಜನಪರ, ಸಂವಿಧಾನಬದ್ಧ ಕಾರ್ಯಗಳಿಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಪೂರ್ಣ… pic.twitter.com/bAXMtz2VmV

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 27, 2023

Most of the eight first-timers do not come from families with political backgrounds.

Madhu Bangarappa, son of late former chief minister Kumar Bangarappa, and MC Sudhakar, whose father MC Chowda Reddy was an MLA five times, are exceptions.

Related: Congress does a balancing act in expanding Karnataka Cabinet

Laxmi Hebbalkar (Belagavi Rural)

Laxmi Hebbalkar took oath in the name of social reformer Basavanna, Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, BR Ambedkar, her mother Girija Devi Hattiholi, and the voters.

Belagavi Rural MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar is the lone woman cabinet minister in the Siddaramaiah government. (supplied)

She defeated her nearest rival Nagesh A Manolkar of the BJP by 56,016 votes. It was her second consecutive win from Belagavi Rural.

“I am delighted that the party has entrusted a great responsibility to me by blessing me with a berth in the Cabinet,” Laxmi hailing from the influential Lingayat Panchamasali community said.

“I will work for the overall development of the state. I don’t demand any portfolio, it is left to the party’s high command,” she told reporters at the Raj Bhavan.

Her brother Channaraj Hattiholi is a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council.

Mankal Vaidya (Bhatkal-Honnavar)

Two-time Bhatkal-Honnavar MLA Mankal Vaidya is one of the first-time ministers.

Bhatkal-Honnavar MLA Mankal Vaidya is the lone minister from Coastal Karnataka in the Siddaramaiah government. (supplied)

He is the lone MLA from Coastal Karnataka to make it to the Siddaramaiah Cabinet. He belongs to one of the dominant Mogaveera communities.

Vaidya had defeated BJP’s Sunil B Naik by a comfortable margin of 32,671 votes. He had won as an independent candidate in the 2013 Assembly elections and pledged his allegiance to the Congress in 2014.

In the previous Assembly elections, he had contested unsuccessfully as the Congress’s candidate from the same seat.

MC Sudhakar (Chintamani)

Three-time Congress MLA Dr MC Sudhakar, who represents Chintamani, is a medical practitioner.

He hails from an influential political family in the Chikkaballapur district. His grandfather MC Anjaneya Reddy was a three-time MLC and his father MC Chowda Reddy was elected five times to the Assembly.

Chintamani MLA Dr M C Sudhakar is the lone cabinet minister from Chikkaballapur district. (supplied)

In the recent election, Sudhakar vanquished JD(S)’s two-time MLA JK Krishna Reddy by a margin of 29,052 votes.

Previously, Sudhakar had won two times from the same seat in the 2004 and 2008 Assembly polls. After the party denied him a ticket in 2013, he contested as an independent candidate and lost by a margin of over 1,500 votes.

In 2016, he returned to Congress and again left the party in 2018 as the party once again denied him a ticket. He unsuccessfully contested on a Bharatiya Praja Paksha ticket in the 2018 Assembly polls.

Ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, he again returned to the Congress and successfully contested from the same seat.

“I am happy that the party has blessed me with a Cabinet post. Even the people of my segment were expecting that I would be inducted into the Cabinet,” he told reporters.

“The high command is jubilant with the performance of the party in Chikkaballapur district. I will work towards bringing a good name to the government and the party. I will also work for the welfare of the state,” an excited Sudhakar said.

Also read: Karnataka electricity bill collectors get Congress promise shock

Madhu Bangarappa (Sorab)

Madhu Bangarappa, who represents the Sorab Assembly seat, hails from one of the most popular and influential political families in Karnataka.

He is the son of the late former chief minister Kumar Bangarappa. He belongs to the Ediga community, which is dominant in Central and Coastal Karnataka.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah greeted the newly appointed minister Madhu Bangarappa at Raj Bhavan. (supplied)

In the 2023 Assembly polls, actor-turned-politician Madhu Bangarappa defeated his brother and BJP’s incumbent MLA Kumar Bangarappa by a margin of 44,262 votes.

In 2013, Madhu Bangarappa won on a JD(S) ticket from the same seat. He quit JD(S) and switched loyalty to Congress in July 2021.

“I am very happy that I have been inducted into the Cabinet. The people of Karnataka have given a clear mandate to the Congress. We have to deliver the promises that the party had made to the people,” he said.

Also read: Bommai reacts sharply to Priyank Kharge comments

N S Boseraju (Raichur)

Congress’s senior leader and AICC secretary NS Boseraju, who is neither a member of the legislative Assembly nor Council, made it to the Cabinet.

AICC Secretary N S Boseraju was sworn-in as the minister of the Siddaramaiah government at Raj Bhavan on Saturday. (supplied)

Earlier, Boseraju had represented the Manvi Assembly segment twice in 1999 and 2004. He was also a member of the legislative council in 2014.

In SM Krishna’s government, he was the chairman of the Hyderabad-Karnataka Development Board. Now it has been renamed as Kalyan-Karnataka.

He is currently the in-charge of the Telangana Congress unit.

“This isn’t a surprise because I have been associated with the party for more than five decades. I have held various positions and posts in the government and party,” Boseraju told reporters in Bengaluru.

“I have remained loyal to the party and worked extensively to strengthen the party. The party has identified me and given me a berth in the Cabinet. I did not lobby for the Cabinet post. It is a reward from the party,” he said.

Boseraju had demanded a party ticket to contest from Raichur City. But the party denied him the opportunity and lost the seat.

B Nagendra (Ballari Rural)

B Nagendra was a close friend of BJP’s senior ST leader and former minister B Sriramulu. They split over political differences and contested against each other. Nagendra emerged victorious in the electoral battle. He was a BJP MLA from Kudligi in 2008 and 2013. He switched over to the Congress in 2018,

He is one of the 14 MLAs from the Scheduled Tribe community. The cabinet berth comes as a reward for B Nagendra’s ‘giant slayer’ victory in the Karnataka assembly polls.

Byrathi Suresh (Hebbal)  

Two-time Hebbal MLA Byrathi Suresh is one of the eight cabinet ministers in the Siddaramaiah government.

Hebbal MLA Byrathi Suresh took oath as the cabinet minister at Raj Bhavan on Saturday. (supplied)

Suresh began his political career as a member of the legislative council in 2012. He resigned as an MLC in 2018 to successfully contest the Assembly elections from Hebbal.

In the recently concluded Assembly polls, Suresh defeated BJP’s Jagadeesha Katta by a margin of 30,754 votes.

He is also a close associate of Siddaramaiah and hails from the Kuruba community.

“I am happy that the Congress recognised my contributions and blessed me with a Cabinet berth. I will work honestly for the development of Karnataka,” he said in Bengaluru.

Byrathi’s Suresh’s brother, BA Basavaraj was among the 17 MLAs of JDS-Congress coalition government who jumped ships to the BJP in 2019. Even as his brother joined the saffron party, Suresh pledged his allegiance to Siddaramaiah and Congress.

Kyathasandra N Rajanna (Madhugiri)

Senior ST leader and Madhugiri MLA Kyathasandra N Rajanna was a member of the legislative council from 1988 to 2002, In the 2004 Assembly election, he won from Bellavi

Madhugiri MLA K N Rajanna was sworn in as a cabinet minister at Raj Bhavan on Saturday. (supplied)

Later he moved to the Madhugiri assembly seat, which he won in 2013 and 2023. However, he was defeated in 2018.

In the 2023 assembly polls, Rajanna defeated JD(S)’s MV Veerabhadraiah by a margin of 35,523 votes.

After winning the elections, he demanded the Cabinet post and also the cooperative ministry. He is one of the close associates of Siddaramaiah.

“I am happy that the party has blessed me with a Cabinet post. The party has not only honoured me but also the sentiments of the people in my constituency. Siddaramaiah had promised to the people that If I am elected from Madhugiri, I would be a minister in his Cabinet. He kept his word,” Rajanna told a news channel.