Karnataka Portfolio Allocation: Siddaramaiah Keeps Finance, DK Gets Irrigation, Bengaluru Dev | Details

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah assigned portfolios to 34 ministers comprising the newly expanded cabinet in the state. The chief minister has kept the ministries of finance, cabinet affairs, personnel and administrative reforms, intelligence, and information, along with all other unallocated portfolios, while his deputy DK Shivakumar was allocated Bengaluru city development along with all-important major and medium irrigation.

As per the list released from Raj Bhawan, former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader G Parameshwara, who has previously handled the Home Department, has again been trusted with the ministry, while HK Patil got Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Legislation, and Tourism.

Check the full list here:

Who Got What?

Senior Congress leader MB Patil is the new Large and Medium Industries minister while KJ Geroge has been given the Energy department portfolio, the Karnataka government announced in a notification released late on Sunday.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge has been given the responsibility of Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj while Dinesh Gundu Rao received Health and Family Welfare.

Shivakumar’s Bengaluru City Development, include the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited. Shivakumar, who hails from the neighbouring Ramanagara district, has been allocated the Bengaluru City Development department despite five MLAs from the city being ministers in the Cabinet. The portfolio is important keeping in mind the upcoming BBMP polls.

Meanwhile, Krishna Byregowda has been trusted with the Revenue Department (excluding Muzrai), while Dr HC Mahadevappa, a practising doctor, has been given the Social Welfare Ministry.

Congress national secretary NS Boseraju, who is neither a member of the legislative council nor the legislative assembly, has been given the minor irrigation and Science and Technology.

The lone woman minister in Siddaramaiah cabinet, 48-year-old Laxmi Hebbalkar has been allotted the Child Development and the Disabled and Senior Citizens Empowerment portfolios. She is a second-time Minister and is considered to be close to Deputy CM Shivakumar.

Further, KH Muniyappa — a former Union minister for whom this is the first stint in the state Cabinet — is the new Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs minister, while Ramalinga Reddy has been made the minister for Transport and Muzrai. Amid speculation that Reddy did not want the Transport department, Shivakumar visited his residence and held discussions on Sunday evening.

Dinesh Gundu Rao is the Health and Family Welfare minister while Public Works has been allocated to Satish Jarakiholi.

Shivanand Patil has been given Textiles, Sugarcane Development and the Directorate of Sugar, Agricultural Marketing from the Cooperation department and Sharanaprakash Rudrappa Patil has been allocated the Medical Education and Skill Development portfolio.

BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan will take charge of Housing, Wakf and Minority Welfare while Sharanabasappa Darshanapur has been allocated Small Scale Industries and Public Enterprises.

Other ministers and their departments include RB Timmapur (Excise), K Venkatesh (Animal Husbandry and Sericulture), Shivaraj Tangadagi (Backward Class, Kannada and Culture), D Sudhakar (Planning and Statistics), B Nagendra (Youth Services, Sports and ST Welfare), KN Rajanna (Co-operation), Suresha BS (Urban Development and Town Planning) and Mankal Vaidya (Fisheries and Ports, Inland Transport). Madhu Bangarappa will take over the Primary and Secondary Education portfolio, and MC Sudhakar will take charge of Higher Education.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah expanded his cabinet on Saturday inducting 24 ministers in the latest rejig. The Karnataka cabinet has now been stretched to its limit of 34 ministers, of which 10, including chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, were sworn in on May 20.

There was some disgruntlement within the Congress after the Cabinet expansion with several MLAs, who held aspirations of becoming ministers but missed out, having to be pacified by party leaders.

In the May 10 elections to the 224-member assembly, the Congress bagged 135 seats while the BJP and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) secured 66 and 19, respectively.