The Congress government in Karnataka has completed the cabinet expansion process by finalizing the names for 24 cabinet berths on Friday.
The much-anticipated list, which has been sent to the Raj Bhavan, does not include former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, who recently defected from the BJP to join the Congress.
Their exclusion from ministerial positions comes as a surprise, considering their role in influencing the Lingayat vote bank.
According to an official release from the Chief Minister’s office, several prominent names have been accommodated in the cabinet. H.K. Patil, a senior Congress leader from Gadag district and a member of the Namdhari Reddy community, Krishna Byre Gowda representing the Hebbal constituency in Bengaluru, N. Cheluvarayaswamy from Mandya district, K. Venkatesh from Mysuru district, and Dr. M.C. Sudhakar from Chikkaballapura district, all belonging to the Vokkaliga community, have secured ministerial positions.
The list also includes Eshwar Khandre from Bidar, Sharanabasappa Darshanapur from Yadgir, Shivanand Patil from Vijayapura, S.S. Mallikarjun from Davanagere, and Laxmi Hebbalkar from Belagavi, all from the Lingayat community.
In addition, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s close aide, Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa from Mysuru district, R. B. Thimmapur from Bagalkot district, and Shivaraj Tangadagi from Koppal district, all belonging to the Scheduled Caste community, will be sworn in as ministers.
Other names on the list include K.N. Rajanna from Tumakuru district and B. Nagendra from Bellary district, both belonging to the Scheduled Tribe community.
Dinesh Gundu Rao, a six-time MLA and former state chief, representing the Gandhinagar constituency in Bengaluru, has been allocated a cabinet berth. He hails from the Brahmin community.
The selection process also favored Mankal Vaidya from the Mogaveera community in Uttara Kannada district over veteran Congress leader R.V. Deshapande from the same region.
Furthermore, Rahim Khan, a senior Congressman representing the Bidar constituency and a member of the Muslim community, will be part of the cabinet. D. Sudhakar, representing the Jain community from Chitradurga, has been given a cabinet post instead of three-time MLA Raghu Murthy from the Scheduled Tribe community.
Santhosh Lad from Dharwad, belonging to the Maratha community, N.S. Bosaraju from Raichur, belonging to the Raju BC community, and Bhyrathi Suresh, a trusted confidante of Siddaramaiah from the Kuruba community, will also be sworn in as ministers.
The party has strategically accommodated Madhu Bangarappa from Shivamogga, considering the significance of strengthening the party’s roots in the home turf of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. Bangarappa belongs to the Ediga OBC community.
Analyzing the composition of the cabinet, it is evident that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has gained an upper hand over his deputy, D.K. Shivakumar. The list includes six Lingayats, four Vokkaligas, five OBCs, three SCs, two STs, and one representative each from the Brahmin, Muslim, Jain, and Reddy communities.
Notably, all sub-castes of the Lingayat community have been considered, with eight cabinet berths allocated to them. The Vokkaligas have secured five representations, including the post of Deputy Chief Minister.
The Dalit community has received nine cabinet berths, ensuring equal representation for various sub-groups.
The ST community will be represented by three ministers, while smaller communities like the Raju Kshatriya (Boseraju) and fishermen (Mankala Vaidya) have also been given representation.
The Kuruba community, to which Chief Minister Siddaramaiah belongs, has been allocated only one cabinet berth (Suresh). The Muslim community will be represented by two ministers (B.Z. Zameer Ahmad Khan and Rahim Khan). U.T. Khader has been appointed as the Speaker, making him the first Muslim to hold the position in the state Assembly.
The Christian community will have one representative (K.J. George), as will the Jain community (D. Sudhakar).
The Congress, under Siddaramaiah’s leadership, seems to strive to achieve a balanced representation in terms of region and community, ensuring an equitable distribution of power.
Representation has been given to North Karnataka, including the Kittur and Kalyan Karnataka regions, the central region of the state, and the Mysuru regions.
Apart from Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, eight more ministers, namely G. Parmeshwara, K.H. Muniyappa, K.J. George, M.B. Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge, Ramalimga Reddy, and Ahmed Khan, were sworn in last Saturday in Bengaluru. However, their portfolios have not been assigned yet. (Edited).
