Last-minute swap, dropped minister mark chaotic day for Karnataka cabinet expansion | Bengaluru News
BENGALURU: Two months after he assumed office, chief minister DK Shivakumar Monday inducted 19 MLAs as ministers, taking the cabinet strength to 33. This leaves the team with one vacancy.The event, which put an end to weeks of speculation, saw a couple of records: Seven SC ministers in the 33-member ministry, a first in 22 years; and no representation for Brahmin community for the first time since Karnataka’s reorganisation. The inductees include eight first-time ministers and seven ministers from the Siddaramaiah cabinet. Among the younger entrants are Rizwan Arshad (46) and Ajay Dharam Singh (51). B Nagendra, who resigned over alleged Valmiki Corporation scam in 2024, has returned to the cabinet.Several senior leaders — HK Patil, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Laxmi Hebbalkar, Shivanand Patil, RB Timmapur, RV Deshpande, K Venkatesh and HC Mahadevappa — were left out.In a touch of drama, within an hour of releasing the initial list of 20 names, the high command replaced Bhatkal MLA Mankal Vaidya with Davanagere North MLA S S Mallikarjun, son of late veteran Shamanur Shivashankarappa, without giving any reasons. MLC Gayathri Shanthegowda, set to be lone woman minister, was dropped hours before the swearing-in amid a dispute over her election from Chikkamagaluru local authorities constituency, which is pending before Supreme Court.
No Brahmin, Woman Inducted; Several Senior Netas Left Out
Gradual change, not a full overhaulThe CM said Gayathri’s swearing-in is delayed due to technical issues. “The party has its calculation, and we’ll decide.”The final ministry composition suggests the party has balanced Rahul Gandhi’s push for generational change with continuity, opting for gradual renewal rather than a complete overhaul. The social composition includes seven Lingayats, seven SCs, six Vokkaligas, five OBCs, three STs and three Muslims.The high command announced GS Patil and AS Ponnanna as assembly speaker and deputy speaker, respectively; Saleem Ahmed was named council chairman and Umashree deputy chairperson.Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy at the swearing-in ceremony at Lok Bhavan, which was delayed by an hour due to last-minute changes. Former CM Siddaramaiah, whose imprint was unmistakable in the expanded as many inductees are his known loyalists, was conspicuous by his absence. As expected, the expansion triggered discontent and protest. Indi MLA Yashavantraya Patil resigned, Belur MLA Gopalakrishna indicated he would follow suit, and more than 15 disgruntled legislators met at TB Jayachandra’s residence and decided to lodge their protest collectively. KH Muniyappa, too, expressed unhappiness over portfolio allocations.Shivakumar said it was impossible to accommodate every MLA and recalled that he had initially missed out on a ministerial berth. He assured legislators that opportunities would be provided in future.
