Karnataka Cabinet: Few portfolios reallocated, Priyank Kharge, M B Patil given additional charge, check updated list

Kharge will take care of IT & BT along with existing portfolio, while Large & Medium Industries Minister M B Patil has been given the additional charge of Infrastructure Development.

The Chief Minister has divested himself of both these portfolios.

According to sources, initially, Patil was given the IT & BT portfolio along with Industries. However, in a subsequent revision the department went to Kharge along with Rural Development and Panchayat Raj. With Patil keen on IT & BT, apparently opposing this move, Siddarmaiah had kept the portfolio with himself.

Kharge was Minister for IT & BT in the earlier Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.

Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah keeping Finance and his deputy DK Shivakumar getting Major and Medium Irrigation, and Bengaluru City Development ministries.

DK Shivakumar, under the Bengaluru City Development Ministry, will be having control over BBMP, BWSSB, BMRDA, BMRCL and BDA.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son and Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge have been given the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

G Parameshwara was allocated the crucial Home Ministry in the state of Karnataka.

HK Patil has been allocated the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Legislation and Tourism. Former Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao was allocated the Health and Family Welfare Ministry. Former Minister and Batarayanapur MLA Krishna Byregowda got the Revenue Ministry (excluding Muzrai).

MC Sudhakar has been allocated the Education Ministry and D Sudhakar has been assigned to the Ministry of Planning and Statistics.

Karnataka cabinet reached its full strength of 34 with 24 ministers taking oath as ministers on May 27. Earlier, eight ministers along with CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar had taken oath on May 20.

The eight MLAs who took oath on May 20 were; Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge, party’s MLAs G Parameshwara and MB Patil, KH Muniyappa, KJ George, Satish Jarkiholi, Ramalinga Reddy and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan.

The 24 ministers who took oath on May 27 taking the state cabinet to its full strength were; HK Patil, Krishna Byregowda, N Cheluvarayaswamy, K Venkatesh, HC Mahadevappa, Eshwar Khandre, Kyathasandra N Rajanna, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, Shivanand Patil, Timmapur Ramappa Balappa, SS Mallikarjun, Tangadagi Shivaraj Sangappa, Sharanaprakash Rudrappa Patil, Mankal Vaidya, Laxmi R Hebbalkar, Rahim Khan, D Sudhakar, Santosh S Lad, NS Boseraju, Suresha BS, Madhu Bangarappa, MC Sudhakar, and B Nagendra.

The Karnataka cabinet expansion was done after the Chief Minister and Shivakumar held consultations with the party’s central leadership.

Congress bagged 135 seats in the May 10 elections for the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ousting the ruling BJP, which got 66 seats in the southern state.

Updated: 31 May 2023, 09:04 PM IST