Days after the Congress party swept the Karnataka Assembly elections 2023, the new Siddaramaiah-led state government's list of portfolios for ministers was released today. The grand old party secured 135 seats in the southern state, ousting the BJP government from power.
CM Siddaramaiah has kept key ministries including Finance, Cabinet Affairs, and Intelligence in the newly-formed Karnataka government, while his deputy DK Shivakumar will oversee Major and Medium Irrigation and Bengaluru City Development.
HK Patil gets Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Legislation, and Tourism. Dinesh Gundu Rao gets Health and Family Welfare, while Krishna Byregowda gets Revenue (Excluding Muzrai), according to the news agency ANI.
A total of 24 ministers took their oath and officially joined Siddaramaiah's cabinet in Karnataka on May 27. MLAs H K Patil, Krishna Byregowda, N Cheluvarayaswamy, K Venkatesh, H C Mahadevappa, Congress working president Eshwar Khandre, and former state Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao were among those who took an oath.
The Congress' list figured names of six Lingayats and four Vokkaligas. Three MLAs are from Scheduled Castes, two from Scheduled Tribes and five from Other Backward Communities -- Kuruba, Raju, Maratha, Ediga and Mogaveera. In Dinesh Gundu Rao, Brahmins have also got representation in the cabinet. Seven ministers each are from Old Mysuru and Kalyana Karnataka regions, six from Kittur Karnataka region and two from central Karnataka.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has struck a balance by giving caste and region-wise representation along with giving due respect to senior as well as junior MLAs, an official statement said on Friday night. It also said the cabinet will have eight Lingayats.
Within them, different sub-sects of the community have been given representation. There will be five Vokkaligas, including Shivakumar, the statement said. The cabinet will have nine Scheduled Caste ministers, it said.
Sources revealed that differences between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar regarding potential ministerial candidates were resolved during the deliberations.
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