Karnataka: Yediyurappa cabinet takes shape as 17 ministers sworn in

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa expanded his ministry on Tuesday by inducting 17 ministers in the first phase.

This was the first-ever expansion of Yediyurappa's ministry after he assumed office on July 26 and proved his government's majority on the floor of the Assembly on July 29.

Having run the government with a "one-man cabinet" for over 20 days, the chief minister had on Saturday managed to get the nod from BJP national president Amit Shah to undertake the exercise on August 20.

Among those administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala at the Raj Bhavan were Govind Karajol, Ashwath Narayan C.N., Laxman Savadi, K.S. Eshwarappa, R. Ashoka, Jagadish Shettar, B. Sreeramulu and S. Suresh Kumar.

V. Somanna, C.T. Ravi, Basavaraj Bommai, Kota Shrinivas Poojari, J.C. Madhu Seamy, C.C. Patil, H. Nagesh, Prabhu Chauhan and Shashikala Jolle Annasaheb are the remaining names on the list. Incidentally, Nagesh, an independent MLA, had been a minister in the H.D. Kumaraswamy government. He withdrew support to Kumaraswamy's government in July.

As the Karnataka chief minister can have a cabinet of 34 ministers (including himself), Yediyurappa is likely to hold another expansion in order to satisfy regional and caste aspirations.

With no clarity on who all were to be inducted into the ministry till Monday night, aspirants and the state BJP leadership were anxiously awaiting clear instructions from the party high command in Delhi.

Amid pressure from within, the opposition Congress and the JD(S) too had hit out at the BJP over the delay in cabinet expansion and had even raised questions about government's "existence".

The Congress had claimed that Yediyurappa's one-man cabinet administration "resembled president's rule".

(With PTI inputs)