Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has allocated portfolios to 29 ministers inducted into his new cabinet. According to news agency ANI, the chief minister kept finance, along with cabinet affairs, Bengaluru development and all un-allocated portfolios. Meanwhile, KS Eshwarappa was allotted the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Development. The revenue department (except Muzarai) was given to R Ashoka, while the Transport & ST Welfare was allotted to B Sriramulu.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had on Wednesday expanded his new cabinet, by inducting 29 ministers. The new Ministers, including the lone woman cabinet member Shashikala Jolle, were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot at the Raj Bhavan.
The Chief Minister had then said the allocation of portfolios to the new Ministers will be done in a couple of days.
Portfolios allocation in Karnataka | CM Bommai keeps Finance, cabinet affairs, Bengaluru development & all un-allocated portfolios. KS Eshwarappa gets Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Development. R Ashoka gets Revenue (except Muzarai). B Sriramulu gets Transport & ST Welfare pic.twitter.com/9OYs5fhAu7
In the cabinet expansion, which was seen as the first challenge before the new Chief Minister, Bommai has tried to play safe. He has by and large retained the old faces, as 23 of them were Ministers in the previous BS Yediyurappa cabinet, while six are new.
However, there are no Deputy Chief Ministers in this cabinet, unlike in the previous Yediyurappa Ministry, which had three.
According to party sources, the Chief Minister was against having any deputies.
The high command also shared his view as there were too many aspirants for the posts and it had the potential to create a further rift within the government and party in the days to come, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the BJP high command seems to have not agreed to induct Yediyurappa’s younger son and state BJP vice president BY Vijayendra into the cabinet, amid reports of pressure from the party strongman, in this regard.
“The national president has spoken to Yediyurappa and the national general secretary in charge of Karnataka Arun Singh spoke to Vijayendra personally.
“I can only say, Vijayendra’s name is not there in the list today,” Bommai said in response to a question on Vijayendra.
Among those in the Yediyurappa cabinet who made it to Bommai’s Ministry are- Govind Karjol (Mudhol), KS Eshwarappa (Shivamogga), R Ashoka (Padmanabhanagar), CN Ashwath Narayan (Malleshwaram), B Sriramulu (Molkalmuru), Umesh Katti (Hukkeri), ST Somashekar (Yeshwanthpur), K Sudhakar (Chikkaballapura); Byrathi Basavaraj (KR Puram), BC Patil(Hirekeruru), Murugesh Nirani (Beelagi), Shivaram Hebbar (Yeallapur), Shashikala Jolle (Nippani), KC Narayan Gowda (KR Pet), K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout); JC Madhuswamy (Chikkanayakanahalli), Prabhu Chauhan (Aurad), V Somanna (Govindraj Nagar), S Angara (Sullia), Anand Singh (Vijayanagara), CC Patil (Nargund), MTB Nagaraj (MLC), and Kota Srinivas Poojary (MLC).
Among the fresh faces are- V Sunil Kumar (Karkala), Araga Jnanendra (Thirthahalli), Munirathna (RR Nagar), Halappa Achar (Yelburga), Shankar Patil Munenkopp (Navalgunda) and BC Nagesh (Tiptur).
