The council of ministers of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in Karnataka was expanded with the swearing-in of 25 ministers on Wednesday.
Kumaraswamy inducted 15 Congress and 10 JD(S) MLAs into the cabinet, while keeping seven berths vacant, presumably to tackle any dissidence arising out of the cabinet expansion.
After weeks of consultations, the parties have finally chosen members, keeping in mind caste and regional considerations. While the cabinet has 12 first-time ministers, MLC Jaimala Ramachandra is the lone woman minister; there is also one independent MLA and a representative from the BSP.
The cabinet, with a strength of 27, including Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, has representation from Vokkaligas (9), Lingayats (4), Brahmins (1), Reddys (1), Kurubas (2), dalits (4), STs (1), Billavas (1), Upparas (1), Muslims (2) and Christians (1). However, the cabinet has no representation from 12 districts.
The Congress formula to accommodate new faces has led to senior leaders being denied a cabinet berth. Senior leaders who were part of the Siddaramaiah cabinet—Dinesh Gundu Rao, Ramalinga Reddy, Shamanur Shivashankarappa, M.B. Patil, H.K. Patil, Roshan Baig, S.R. Patil, Satish Jarkiholi and Tanveer Sait—have been kept out of the cabinet.
In JD(S), senior leaders and former ministers like Basavaraj Horatti and A.H. Vishwanath have not made it to the cabinet.
Interestingly, four woman MLAs—Laxmi Hebbalkar, Anjali Nimbalkar, Roopa Shashidhar and Khanija Fathima—won on a Congress ticket. But none were considered for a cabinet berth.
List of ministers
H.D. Revanna—five-time MLA and elder son of H.D. Deve Gowda and brother of Kumaraswamy
R.V. Deshpande—an eight-time MLA from Haliyal and former minister
Bandeppa Kashempur—Kuruba leader and three-time MLA from Bidar South
D.K. Shivakumar—seven-time MLA from Kanakapura and former energy minister
G.T. Deve Gowda—four-time MLA and a 'giant killer' who defeated previous chief minister Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari
K.J. George—former home minister and Sarvajnanagar MLA
D.C. Thammanna—Maddur MLA and a relative of the Deve Gowda family
Krishna Byre Gowda—five-time MLA from Byatrayanpura and former agriculture minister
M.C. Managooli—three-time MLA from Sindhagi
N.H. Shivashankar Reddy—five-time MLA from Gauribidanur
G. Srinivas—four-time MLA from Gubbi
Ramesh Jarkiholi—former minister and Gokak MLA
Venkatarao Nadagouda—two-time MLA from Sindhanur
Priyank Kharge—former minister and two-time MLA from Chittapur
C.S. Puttaraju—former Mandya MP and Melkote MLA
U.T. Khader—four-time MLA from Mangalore
Sa Ra Mahesh—three-time MLA from K.R. Nagar
B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan—Chamarajpet MLA, who quit JD(S) and contested on a Congress ticket
N. Mahesh—BSP MLA from Kollegal
Shivananda Patil—five-time MLA from Basavana Bagewadi
Venkataramanappa—Pavagada MLA
Rajshekar Patil—Humnabad MLA
C. Puttarangashetty—Chamarajnagar MLA
R. Shankar—independent MLA from Ranebennur
Jaimala Ramachandra—actor-turned-politician and MLC
