BENGALURU:- Eleven of the 13 ministers, who were inducted into D K Shivakumar-led cabinet in Karnataka on Wednesday, were part of the previous Siddaramaiah government in the state.
Interestingly, Siddaramaiah’s son and MLC Yathindra also made it to the Ministry. However, no women representatives were included in the first phase of cabinet formation.
Yathindra and U T Khader, who resigned as Legislative Assembly Speaker, are the only two new faces in Shivakumar’s cabinet, the rest were part of Siddaramaiah’s ministry.
Senior Dalit MLA G Parameshwara, who took the oath, is all set to be designated as the Deputy CM.
The other ministers who were sworn-in are K H Muniyappa, K J George, M B Patil, Ramalinga Reddy, Satish Jarkiholi, Krishna Byregowda, Priyank Kharge, U T Khader, Eshwar Khandre, Yathindra Siddaramaiah, Byrathi Suresh, and Sharan Prakash Patil.
A Congress leader said, “While looking at this new cabinet, it may appear that Siddaramaiah’s print is clear on it. However, this may also mean that many fresh faces may be inducted in the next phase of cabinet formation.” The sanctioned strength of Karnataka’s ministry is 34, including the CM.
In terms of caste composition, the cabinet balances representation with three Ministers each from the politically dominant Vokkaliga (including Shivakumar and Ramalinga Reddy) and Veerashaiva-Lingayat communities, and there is an equal number of Dalit Ministers.
While there are two Ministers from the Kuruba community, to which Siddaramaiah belongs; one Minister each are from ST, Christian and Muslim communities.
Looking at district wise representation, the highest number of four Ministers are from Bengaluru Urban, two from Kalaburagi, and one each from Bengaluru South, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Vijayapura, Bidar, Dakshina Kannada, Belagavi, and Mysuru districts.
Yathindra Siddaramaiah is the only MLC to make it to the Ministry, rest all are MLAs.