Karnataka Cabinet oath-taking ceremony: Congress leader Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and eight MLAs took oath on Saturday in the presence of top party leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge in Bengaluru. Along with newly sworn-in Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar, 8 MLAs took oath as Cabinet ministers.
It took almost a week time to chalk out the formation of the government. The selection for the name of the CM post and other Cabinet members was not so easy. After a marathon of meetings and consultation, the Congress finally come out with the list of ministers. The party was facing infighting between two camps led by Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar which posed the biggest challenge in front of the party post-election results.
How Siddaramaiah Cabinet looks like
Among eight MLAs inducted into the Cabinet, three are SCs, and one each from Christian, Lingayat, ST, Reddy and Muslim communities. Siddaramaiah is a Kuruba and Shivakumar belongs to the Vokkaliga community.
According to Congress sources, the party high command approved the list of eight ministers, against the earlier plan of inducting a much higher number of legislators into the cabinet, as there were allegedly differences between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar over some names, during the discussions held till late last night in New Delhi over cabinet formation.
However, the party selected names carefully keeping in mind the tall poll promises and regional-caste balance in the state.
Following is a brief background of the new Cabinet Ministers:
1. G Parameshwara:
- Headed Congress' manifesto committee ahead of this Assembly election
- Belongs to SC-Right community, represents Koratagere constituency in Tumakuru district
- Former Deputy Chief Minister during Congress-JD(S) coalition government led by H D Kumaraswamy.
- Minister with various key portfolios including Home, Higher Education among others in earlier governments
- Longest-serving Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief for eight years
- Open about aspiration for CM and Deputy CM post
- Six-time MLA -- three times each from Madhugiri and Koratagere
- Has a PhD in plant physiology from Waite Agriculture Research Centre of the University of Adelaide
2. KH Muniyappa:
- Congress leader from SC-Left, represents Devanahalli Assembly segment in Bengaluru Rural district.
- Seven-time Member of Lok Sabha representing Kolar from 1991 to 2019
- Former Union Minister
- Elected for the first time to Legislative Assembly.
- Daughter Roopakala M Shashidhar is MLA from Kolar Gold Fields (KGF)
3. KJ George
- Christian face of Congress, represents Sarvagnanagar Assembly segment in Bengaluru city.
- Six-time MLA.
- Considered close to CM Siddaramaiah.
- Has served as Minister for Home, Bengaluru Development and Town Planning among other portfolios in the past
- Born in Kerala, his family moved to Kodagu when he was very young.
4. MB Patil:
- Considered as a prominent face of Congress from the dominant Lingayat community
- President of BLDEA (Bijapur Lingayat Education Association), a leading education organisation in north Karnataka region
- Congress' campaign committee President ahead of this election
- Represents Babaleshwar Assembly constituency in Vijayapura district
- Five-time MLA
- Had been Minister for Home and Water Resources in previous governments
- Had served as Member of Parliament from Bijapur (Vijayapura)
5. Satish Jarkiholi
- From Valmiki community, which comes under STs
- Represents Yamakanmardi Assembly constituency in Belagavi district
- Karnataka Congress Working President
- Four-time MLA, twice MLC
- Was with JD(S) earlier
- His brothers Ramesh Jarkiholi and Balachandra Jarkiholi are BJP MLAs from Gokak and Arabhavi legislative constituencies respectively.
- Had served as Minister for Excise and Textile in the past
- Popular for his anti-superstition stand
- Founder-chairman of sugar manufacturing firm Satish Sugars
6. Priyank Kharge
- Son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge
- Member of Dalit community under SC-Right, represents Chittapur segment in Kalaburagi district
- He is Chairman - Communications of Karnataka Congress
- Three-time MLA
- Had served as Minister for IT, BT, Tourism and Social Welfare in the past
- Associated with Youth Congress
7. Ramalinga Reddy:
- Belongs to Reddy community, represents BTM Layout in Bengaluru city
- Considered among Congress' faces for the city.
- Has earlier been in-charge of the city
- Karnataka Congress Working President
- Eight-time MLA
- Served as Minister of Home, Transport, Education and other key portfolios in the past
- Was associated with Congress' students wing for a long time
8. BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan:
- Prominent Muslim leader in Congress, represents Chamrajpet Assembly segment in Bengaluru city.
- Five-time MLA
- Had served as Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Hajj and Waqf
- Earlier with JD(S).
