Karnataka cabinet expansion on June 12, Ramalinga Reddy to be in

Bengaluru, June 08: Amid growing dissent, Karataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday said he will expand his year old JD-S - Congress coalition ministry on June 12.

He met Governor VR Vala in the morning and requested time for the cabinet expansion. The swearing in ceremony will be held at 11.30 am, Wednesday.

The cabinet expansion or rejig was in the offing after the humiliating defeat of the Congress and JD(S) in the Lok Sabha election, in which both the parties barely survived the Modi wave, getting one seat each.

The BJP swept the polls, capturing 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. Independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh, backed by the BJP, won the Mandya seat, defeating Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil in one of the most bitterly fought contests.

The cabinet expansion is seen as a way to contain the rebellion that erupted, specially in the Congress, after the poll debacle, with several senior leaders openly castigating the state leadership.

Of the total 34 ministerial positions in Karnataka, the Congress and the JD(S) have shared 22 and 12 respectively under an understanding between the two parties. Currently, three posts are vacant, two from JD(S) and one from the Congress.