Karnataka Cabinet Expansion: 24 Ministers To Take Oath In Siddaramaiah's Govt Today

Around 24 ministers will be inducted into Congress government in Karnataka as the party finalised the names of new ministers on Thursday night. The new ministers will take oath on Saturday at 11.45 am as part of the Karnataka Cabinet expansion.

Top Congress leaders held discussions with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar over expansion of the state Cabinet. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are lobbying hard to get their loyalists into the cabinet.

While speaking to reporters, Congress leader K. C. Venugopal said that the swearing-in ceremony will begin at 11.45 am.

Senior MLA H K Patil, Krishna Byregowda, N Cheluvarayaswamy, K Venkatesh, Dr H C Mahadevappa, Congress working president Eshwar Khandre and former Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao are among those who will take the oath on Saturday.

Others who will make it to the Karnataka cabinet are Kyathasandra N Rajanna,Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, Shivanand Patil, Ramappa Balappa Timmapur, S S Mallikarjun, Shivaraj Sangappa Tangadagi, Dr Sharanaprakash Rudrappa Patil, Mankal Vaidya, Laxmi Hebbalkar, Rahim Khan, D Sudhakar, Santosh Lad, N S Boseraju, Suresha B S, former CM S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa, Dr M C Sudhakar and B Nagendra.

Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Madhu Bangarappa, D Sudhakar, Cheluvaraya Swami, Mankul Vaidya and M C Sudhakar are considered close to Shivakumar.

Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Madhu Bangarappa, D Sudhakar, Cheluvaraya Swami, Mankul Vaidya and M C Sudhakar are considered close to Shivakumar. Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar have been in the national capital for the last three days and they have held several rounds of discussions.

The decision was finalised after hours of parleys between Siddaramaih and his deputy Shivakumar with top central leaders including AICC general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka Minister K H Muniyappa said the Cabinet expansion will take place on Saturday afternoon and the portfolios would also be allotted by evening.

Muniyappa also said barring four or five ministerial posts, rest would be filled up in the same day.

According to the Minister, the Cabinet would be a mix of seniors and young people.

"Tomorrow, the Cabinet expansion will take place. Time has also been fixed. It would be tomorrow afternoon. Most of the posts would be filled," Muniyappa told reporters after returning from New Delhi.

To a question on how many ministerial posts would be filled, he said, "Barring four or five, rest all would be filled up." When asked whether senior leaders have put up any demand before the party high command regarding ministerial positions, Muniyappa said at this juncture it would be difficult to say anything. "However, we need seniors as well as young people. We need to make a balance of both," he pointed out.

On portfolios, the Minister said it has not been fixed yet. "Portfolio would be decided tomorrow. By Saturday evening, portfolios have to be announced," he added.

Devanahalli MLA Muniyappa, a former Union Minister and a seven-time Lok Sabha member, took oath as Karnataka Minister on May 20 along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Against the permissible strength of 34, 10 posts have been filled so far including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, while 24 posts are lying vacant.

Those who have sworn-in, other than Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, are Dr G Parameshwara, Muniyappa, K J George, M B Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge, Ramalinga Reddy and B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan.

Hectic lobbying are on for ministerial positions and many aspirants camped in Delhi to impress upon their candidature.