Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday said that all MLAs cannot be accommodated in the Cabinet at once, adding that those who miss out on ministerial berths will get opportunities in the future.
Speaking to reporters on the Cabinet expansion, Shivakumar said that it was not possible to accommodate all the MLAs in the ministry and recalled that he too had earlier missed out on a ministerial berth in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet.
"There are many MLAs. It is not possible to accommodate everyone. Earlier, I too missed out on a ministerial berth in Siddaramaiah's Cabinet. But didn't I become a minister later? Similarly, we will provide opportunities to everyone in the future. Right now, I am heading to Lok Bhavan," Shivakumar added.
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Earlier today, the Congress high command approved the expansion of the DK Shivakumar-led Karnataka Cabinet, clearing the names of 20 ministers, including one woman, Gayathri Shanthegowda. 12 new faces get a chance, while 8 incumbent ministers are retained in the new cabinet composition.
According to an official release, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge approved the induction of PM Narendraswamy, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Rudrappa Lamani, KS Basavanthappa, B Nagendra, T Raghumoorthy, BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, Rizwan Arshad, Santosh Lad, Madhu Bangarappa, Putturangashetty, SS Mallikarjun, Ajay Singh, N Chaluvaraya Swamy, KM Shivalinge Gowda, HC Balakrishna, Gayathri Shanthegowda, Basavaraj Rayareddi, Vijayanand Kashappanavar, and Laxman Savadi as ministers.
The oath-taking ceremony of the Karnataka cabinet expansion will take place at 04:05 pm at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru.
Among the approved names, Gayathri Shanthegowda is the only woman minister. The list also includes several new entrants to the cabinet, including PM Narendraswamy, KS 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. GS 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.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said the final decision on the cabinet expansion rested with the Congress high command.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge said, "The high command is deciding on it, and we are expecting it to be announced today. We have more than 140 MLAs. We have MLAs in every district. We have MLAs in every community. We have a lot of capable leaders. We have depth in leadership. So, it is going to be difficult to pick only 30 out of the 140 legislators we have."
The DK Shivakumar ministry represents the current council of ministers in Karnataka, formed following a leadership transition. Operating under the leadership of CM Shivakumar, the administration features a mix of key cabinet members including G Parameshwara, KH Muniyappa, KJ George, MB Patil, Ramalinga Reddy, Satish Jarkiholi, Krishna Byre Gowda, Priyank Kharge, UT Khader, Eshwara Khandre, Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah, Byrathi Suresh, and Sharan Prakash Patil.
