24 ministers sworn in, joining Karnataka cabinet of Siddaramaiah

Amid the growing crowd gathered to witness the ceremony, heightened security measures have been put in place in and around Raj Bhavan.

MPs HK Patil, Krishna Byregowda, N Cheluvarayaswamy, K Venkatesh, HC Mahadevappa, incumbent Congress Speaker Eshwar Khandre and former State Congress Speaker Dinesh Gundu Rao are among those taking the oath.

Meanwhile, supporters of Karnataka Congress leader Rudrappa Lamani staged a protest outside the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office, demanding that he be given a ministerial position in the state government.

Others on the list are: Kyathasandra N Rajanna, Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, Shivanand Patil, Ramappa Balappa Timmapur, SS Mallikarjun, Shivaraj Sangappa Tangadagi, Sharanaprakash Rudrappa Patil, Mankal Vaidya, Laxmi Hebbalkar, Rahim Khan, D Sudhakar, Santosh Lad, NS Boseraju, Suresha BS, Madhu Bangarappa, MC Sudhakar and B Nagendra. Laxmi Hebbalkar, Madhu Bangarappa, D Sudhakar, Cheluvaraya Swami, Mankul Vaidya and MC Sudhakar are close to Shivakumar, PTI noted citing congressional sources.

The Congress list includes the names of six Lingayats and four Vokkaligas. Three MPs 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 are also represented in the cabinet. Seven ministers are each 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 representation by caste and region while respecting senior and junior MPs, an official statement said on Friday evening. He also said that the cabinet will have eight Lingayats.

Within them, different sub-sects of the community were represented. There will be five Vokkaligas, including Shivakumar, the statement said. The cabinet will have nine scheduled caste ministers, he said. Portfolios have not yet been assigned. Minister of State KH Muniyappa said the portfolios will be announced in the evening.

After lengthy discussions involving Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and prominent central leaders such as AICC General Secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala, the names of the 24 MPs were finalized.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former party leader Rahul Gandhi gave final approval to the list.

It was notably the first meeting between the leaders of Karnataka and Sonia Gandhi since the formation of the state government.

Sources revealed that differences between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar over potential ministerial candidates were resolved during deliberations.

Thereafter, all the leaders departed from Delhi to Bangalore to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed ministers.

Updated: May 27, 2023, 12:29 PM IST