Karnataka portfolios: Siddaramaiah keeps Finance, Shivakumar gets Irrigation, Bengaluru development
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has allocated portfolios to ministers in his cabinet, keeping the finance portfolio with him and allocating the irrigation and Bengaluru urban development portfolios to his deputy DK Sivakumar.
Siddaramaiah was sworn in on May 20 along with Sivakumar and eight ministers. He then expanded the cabinet to full strength by inducting 24 new ministers on Saturday after several rounds of talks with the Congress central leadership.
The Karnataka government belatedly announced that G. Parameswara, who previously handled Home Affairs, has been given the portfolio again, MB Patil has been given the new Large and Medium Industries Minister, and KJ Geroge has been given the Energy Department. On Sunday.
Apart from the finance department, the chief minister, who has tabled 13 state budgets, holds cabinet affairs, personnel and administrative reforms, intelligence, information, IT and PT, infrastructure development and all unallocated portfolios.
Sivakumar has held all major and medium irrigation and Bangalore city development projects including Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru Development Authority, Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Bengaluru Metropolitan Area Development Authority and Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited.
Sivakumar, who hails from neighboring Ramanagara district, has been allotted the urban development portfolio even though five MLAs from Bengaluru are ministers in the cabinet. The portfolio is important keeping in mind the upcoming BBMP elections.
HK Patil has been assigned the portfolios of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Law and Tourism, while KH Muniyappa—former Union Minister, the first in the state cabinet—is the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs.
Ramalinga Reddy has been appointed as the Minister of Transport and Musrai. Amidst speculation that Reddy does not want the transport department, Sivakumar visited his home on Sunday evening for discussions.
Dinesh gundurao is the Minister for Health and Family Welfare and HC Mahadevappa is the Minister for Social Welfare. Public Works has been assigned to Satish Jarakiholi and Revenue to Krishna Byragowda.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge has been appointed as the new Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, while Sivanand Patil has been given the Directorate of Textiles, Sugarcane Growth and Sugar, Agriculture Marketing from the Cooperative Department.
PZ Zameer Ahmed Khan will be in charge of Housing, Waqf and Minority Welfare, while Charan Basappa Darshanapur has been allotted Small Industries and Public Institutions. Forest, Ecology and Environment went to Ishwar Kantre, Agriculture to N Selvarayaswamy, Mines and Geology, Horticulture to SS Mallikarjun, Municipal Administration and Haj Rahim Khan and Labor to Santosh S Lad.
Lakshmi R Heppalkar, the only woman in the cabinet, will hold the portfolios of Women and Child Development and Empowerment of Disabled and Senior Citizens while Saranaprakash Rudrappa Patil has been allotted the portfolio of Medical Education and Skill Development.
Other ministers and their portfolios include RP Thimmapur (Excise), K Venkatesh (Livestock and Sericulture), Shivraj Thangadagi (Backward Classes, Kannada and Culture), D Sudhakar (Planning and Statistics), P Nagendra (Youth Services, Sports). and ST Welfare) ), K.N.Rajanna (Cooperative), Suresha B.S.
Madhu Bangarappa has been given primary and secondary education, MC Sudhakar higher education and NS Bhosaraj minor irrigation, science and technology.
There was some discontent within the Congress after the cabinet expansion, with several MLAs aspiring for ministerial posts but missing out, having to be pacified by party leaders.
In the May 10 election to the 224-member assembly, the Congress won 135 seats, while the BJP and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) won 66 and 19 seats respectively.
