Congress leadership meet to finalise portfolio allocations for expanded Karnataka Cabinet
New Delhi, August 11
A week after the expansion of the Karnataka Cabinet, central Congress leadership held a crucial meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday to finalise portfolio allocations for the newly inducted ministers, sources said.
According to sources, the agenda of the meeting centred on portfolio distribution following the recent induction of new ministers into the Karnataka Cabinet. Sources said that the official allocation of portfolios is expected to be announced within the next 24 hours.
As per sources, the discussion took place inside the chamber of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha in Parliament. It was attended by LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and party General Secretary (Organization) KC Venugopal. AICC In-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala was also present at the deliberations.
On August 3, the Congress high command approved the expansion of the Karnataka Cabinet, clearing the names of 20 ministers, including one woman, Gayathri Shanthegowda.
The expanded ministry includes 12 new faces, while eight incumbent ministers have been retained.
The oath-taking ceremony took place at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru after Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot approved the Cabinet expansion. The state Cabinet increased the size of the ministry to the full limit of 34, including the Chief Minister.
Among those sworn in were P M Narendraswamy, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Rudrappa Lamani, K S Basavanthappa, B Nagendra, T Raghumoorthy, B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, Rizwan Arshad, Santosh Lad, Madhu Bangarappa, Putturangashetty, S S Mallikarjun, Ajay Singh, N Chaluvaraya Swamy, K M Shivalinge Gowda, H C Balakrishna, Gayathri Shanthegowda, Basavaraj Rayareddi, Vijayanand Kashappanavar and Laxman Savadi.
Among the approved names, Gayathri Shanthegowda is the only woman minister. The list also includes several new entrants to the cabinet, including PM Narendraswamy, K S Basavanthappa, T Raghumoorthy, Putturangashetty, Ajay Singh, and Gayathri Shanthegowda, while several former ministers are making a return to the Council of Ministers.
The Congress high command also approved appointments to key positions in the Karnataka Legislature. G S Patil has been cleared for the post of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, A S Ponnanna for Deputy Speaker, Saleem Ahmed for Chairperson of the Legislative Council, and Umashree for Deputy Chairperson of the Legislative Council.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Only one woman minister in a 34-member cabinet? That's disappointing, Congress. Gayathri Shanthegowda is a good pick, but we need more women representation in decision-making. 😕 Hope she gets a significant portfolio at least.
Interesting to see Rahul Gandhi personally involved in Karnataka cabinet allocations. This shows the importance of Karnataka for Congress's future. The mix of old and new faces is good, but I hope the internal factionalism doesn't affect governance. The real test is delivery.
Seems like a balanced mix with 12 new faces and 8 retained. But I'm curious about the criteria — many of those inducted have been in politics for decades, so it's more of a reward system. The citizens just want infrastructure and job creation, not just political appointments. Let's see what they deliver.
The Congress high command is doing a balancing act, but where is the youth representation? Most of these ministers are 55+. We need younger leaders to handle technology, startups, and urban planning. Anyways, best of luck to the new team. Karnataka deserves better. 💪
Good to see the cabinet expansion finally complete. But I'm concerned about the caste equations — looks like they've tried to cover all major communities, but that's exactly how we end up with inefficient ministers in key posts. I just pray Bengaluru gets someone who understands its infrastructure crisis.
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