The long-awaited expansion of Karnataka  Cabinet materialised on Saturday, with eight Congress legislators — seven of them hailing from the north Karnataka — being sworn in by Governor Vajubhai R. Vala.

While this fills the Congress quota in the coalition government’s Cabinet, Janata Dal (Secular) has chosen to keep its options open on its quota of two Ministers.

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, the decision of the Congress to give prominence to north Karnataka has assumed significance as the JD(S) is largely focussing on its electoral base in the southern districts of the State. This is also aimed at addressing the constant complaints of neglect of the people of north Karnataka.

While M.T.B. Nagaraj (Hoskote, Bengaluru Rural) is the lone MLA to become Minister from the southern part of the State this time, the other newly sworn-in ministers are M.B. Patil from Babaleshwar in Vijayapura district; R.B. Timmapur, MLC; Satish Jarkiholi from Yemkanmardi in Belagavi district; C.S. Shivalli from Kundgol in Dharwad district; P.T. Parameshwar Naik from Huvinahadagali in Ballari district; E. Tukaram from Sandur in Ballari district; and Raheem Khan from Bidar North.

All eight were administered the oath of office and secrecy at the Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara and several Congress and JD(S) leaders. All eight are of Cabinet rank.

Forest Minister R. Shankar and Municipal Administration Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi have been dropped from the Ministry.

Protest

There were rumblings of discontent from some legislators not inducted into the Cabinet even as the oath-taking ceremony was on. Supporters of the Congress MLA, Ramalinga Reddy, protested near the Raj Bhavan to demand his induction into the Cabinet.

With the Ministry’s size fixed at 34, the Congress has filled its full quota (22) and the total strength of the Council of Ministers has increased to 32. Only two seats are vacant and both belong to the JD(S) quota.

Of the eight inducted, four have become Ministers for the first time. Mr. Satish Jarkiholi, Mr. Patil, Mr. Thimmapur, and Mr. Naik had served in the previous Siddaramaiah government.

Caste equation

The Congress struck a balance by providing fair representation to all major castes/communities. There are two Ministers from Kuruba community (Mr. Shivalli and Mr. Nagaraj), two from the Scheduled Castes (Mr. Naik and Mr. Thimmapur), two from the Scheduled Tribes (Mr. Tukaram and Mr. Satish Jarkiholi), one from Lingayat (Mr. Patil), and one Muslim (Mr. Khan).

To contain dissidence, the Congress has given postings to 31 legislators, including eight Ministers, nine parliamentary secretaries, and 19 heads to boards and corporations. The Congress has recommended to the government names of 19 MLAs to appoint as heads of various government boards and corporations.

The party has appointed three MLCs and six MLAs as Parliament Secretaries. Sharanappa Darshanapur, MLA for Shahpur in Yadgir, has been appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Board.

Senior leader and former Minister H.K. Patil has been appointed as Chairman of the campaign committee of KPCC. He has replaced Minister for Water Resources and Medical Education D.K. Shivakumar.

Jewargi MLA Ajay Singh has been appointed as the special representative of the government in Delhi, while V. Muniyappa, MLA, is the Political Secretary to the Chief Minister.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent /  Bengaluru – December 23rd, 2018