Big Changes in Karnataka: CM Siddaramaiah Holds onto Finance, G Parameshwara Assigned Home, Insider Sources Reveal!

NEW DELHI: The newly expanded Karnataka cabinet consisting of 34 ministers has been assigned their portfolios. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is expected to retain five key ministries for himself, while Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has been given two ministries: irrigation and Bengaluru Development.

A source in the Karnataka government stated that this is a draft list, and an official one will be released from Raj Bhavan soon.

The Chief Minister will handle the ministries of finance, cabinet affairs, personnel and administrative reforms, intelligence, information, and other unallocated portfolios.

Senior Congress leader G Parameshwara has been given the home ministry, while Priyank Kharge, son of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, has been assigned to the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

HK Patil has been allocated Law & Parliamentary Affairs, Dinesh Gundu Rao has been given Health & Family Welfare, and Krishna Byre Gowda has been allotted Revenue (Excluding Muzrai).

The draft list of ministers comprises eight members from the Lingayat community, seven from Scheduled Caste communities, five Vokkaligas, two Muslims, three from Scheduled Tribe communities, six from Other Backward Classes groups, one Maratha, one Brahmin, one Christian, and one Jain.

The new cabinet reached its maximum capacity of 34 ministers after the swearing-in of 24 ministers at Raj Bhavan on Saturday. This number includes the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, who was sworn in last week, along with eight other legislators.

The selection of ministers was the result of multiple high-level consultations with the party's high command in Delhi. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar held meetings with Kharge in Delhi, as well as state in-charge Randeep Surjewala and party general secretary KC Venugopal.

Dr. H C Mahadevappa, an MBBS doctor from JJM Medical College, has been given the Social Welfare Ministry. The 70-year-old MLA from T Narasipur, belonging to the Scheduled Caste community, was previously with the JD(S) and switched over to the Congress. He served as the Public Works Minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government.

Many of the newly appointed cabinet ministers have no prior ministerial experience. N S Boseraju, a Congress national secretary who is not a member of the legislative council or the legislative assembly, has been assigned the ministries of Tourism and Science & Technology. He is known to be close to the Congress high command, and his candidature was reportedly finalized at the last minute after much debate.

B Nagendra, an MLA from the Ballari constituency, has been given the Sports and Kannada Culture ministries. He is considered a 'giant killer' for defeating former minister B Sriramulu in the recently concluded assembly election.

Laxmi Hebbalkar, a 48-year-old MLA from Belagavi rural, has been allocated the Women and Child Welfare Ministry. She won from the constituency for the second time and is known to be close to Deputy CM Shivakumar.