Bengaluru: Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday expanded the Karnataka Cabinet to its full sanctioned strength by inducting 20 new ministers, two months after assuming office. The swearing-in ceremony was held at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru after Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot approved the Cabinet expansion.

With the latest induction, the Council of Ministers has reached its maximum strength of 34, including the Chief Minister.

The expansion also saw appointments to key legislative posts, while the exclusion of several Congress legislators triggered resignations and protests from disappointed party workers.

Twenty ministers take oath

The newly inducted ministers are:

  • 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
  • Dr Ajay Singh
  • N. Chaluvaraya Swamy
  • K.M. Shivalinge Gowda
  • H.C. Balakrishna
  • Gayathri Shanthegowda
  • Basavaraj Rayareddi
  • Vijayanand Kashappanavar
  • Laxman Savadi

The expansion includes several experienced leaders as well as legislators making their return to the Cabinet.

New appointments to legislative posts

Alongside the Cabinet expansion, the Congress high command approved appointments to key positions in the Karnataka Legislature.

G.S. Patil has been named the Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, while A.S. Ponnanna has been appointed Deputy Speaker.

In the Legislative Council, Saleem Ahmed will serve as Chairman, while Umashree has been appointed Deputy Chairperson.

Resignations over Cabinet exclusion

Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Congress MLAs Yashavantarayagouda V. Patil (Indi) and Belur Gopalakrishna (Sagar) resigned from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly after failing to secure ministerial berths.

Yashavantarayagouda Patil claimed his name had remained on the list of probable ministers until Monday morning before being dropped from the final list.

He said he had been assured of a ministerial position even before the 2023 Assembly elections and was later told he would be accommodated after two-and-a-half years.

Describing the exclusion as an insult to the people of his constituency, Patil clarified that he was resigning as an MLA but not from the Congress party.

His supporters also staged protests in Bengaluru following the announcement.

Chief Minister appeals for patience

Responding to the disappointment expressed by several legislators, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar urged party colleagues to remain patient.

He said it was impossible to accommodate every MLA in the Cabinet due to constitutional limitations.

Recalling his own political journey, Shivakumar said he too had once missed an opportunity to become a minister in the Siddaramaiah government before eventually joining the Cabinet later.

He assured party legislators that deserving leaders would receive opportunities in the future and appealed to them to remain united.

Several senior leaders left out

The Cabinet expansion witnessed the return of several prominent leaders, including B. Nagendra, who had resigned from the previous Siddaramaiah government in 2024 over allegations related to the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi and senior Congress leader B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan also returned to the ministry.

However, several senior leaders from the previous government were not included in the new Cabinet. They include H.C. Mahadevappa, H.K. Patil, Dinesh Gundu Rao, K. Venkatesh, M.C. Sudhakar and Laxmi Hebbalkar.

Gayathri Shanthegowda is the only woman inducted into the expanded ministry.

The new Cabinet also includes three leaders who are children of former Chief Ministers — Yathindra Siddaramaiah, Madhu Bangarappa (son of former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa) and Dr Ajay Singh (son of former Chief Minister Dharam Singh).

With the Cabinet now at full strength, the Shivakumar government is expected to focus on governance and implementation of its key programmes while addressing the aspirations of legislators who remain outside the ministry.