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Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar expands cabinet; 20 ministers inducted
Alongside the cabinet expansion, the Congress also announced appointments to senior legislative offices
The Karnataka cabinet expansion took place on Monday with the Congress inducting 20 legislators into the cabinet and filling key constitutional posts in the state legislature after months of internal consultations within the party.
The expansion takes the cabinet led by chief minister DK Shivakumar, to its full strength and concludes a prolonged exercise by the Congress leadership to balance regional, caste and political representation while filling vacant ministerial positions.
The new ministers are P M Narendraswamy, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Rudrappa Lamani, K S Basavanthappa, B Nagendra, T Raghumoorthy, Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, Rizwan Arshad, Santosh Lad, Madhu Bangarappa, Putturangashetty, Mankala Vaidya, Dr Ajay Singh, N Cheluvarayaswamy, K M Shivalinge Gowda, H C Balakrishna, Gayathri Shanthegowda, Basavaraj Rayareddi, Vijayanand Kashappanavar and Laxman Savadi.
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Alongside the cabinet expansion, the Congress announced appointments to senior legislative offices.
GS Patil will serve as speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, with AS Ponnanna as deputy speaker. Salem Ahmed has been named Chairperson of the Legislative Council, while Umashree will serve as deputy chairperson.
The appointments follow several months of discussions between the Karnataka leadership and the Congress leadership over the composition of the ministry. The exercise sought to accommodate competing political interests while distributing representation across regions and communities within the ruling party.
The expanded cabinet is likely to take oath on Monday evening.
