Karnataka CM allocates portfolios to Ministers

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday allocated portfolios to Ministers in his new cabinet, with most of them retaining the Ministries they had in the previous B S Yediyurappa government.

In a surprising move, debutant ministers have got plum portfolios like Araga Jnanendra- Home and V Sunil Kumar- Energy, along with Kannada and Culture.

The Chief Minister, who had on Wednesday expanded his new cabinet by inducting 29 Ministers, had played it safe by and large retaining old faces, as 23 of them were Ministers in the previous Yediyurappa cabinet, while six were new.

Seventeen Ministers have retained the portfolios that they had served in the previous government. Out of them, eight are those who had joined the BJP after quitting the Congress-JD(S) coalition in 2019, and helped the saffron party come to power.

At least six Ministers, who are either long-time BJP loyalists or with RSS background, including Araga Jnanendra and Sunil Kumar, have got plum portfolios.

Others are K S Eshwarappa- Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, R Ashoka-Revenue, Kota Srinivas Poojari- Social Welfare and Backward Classes, and B C Nagesh- Primary and Secondary education, Sakala department.

The portfolio allocation has given rise to some amount of disgruntlement, with two Ministers- Anand Singh and M T B Nagaraj- openly expressing displeasure about their portfolios.

Downplaying the disgruntlement among his cabinet colleagues, the Chief Minister said he will speak to them personally and sort out the issue, as every one can't get the portfolio they ask for.

Bommai has retained the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DAPR), Finance, Intelligence, Cabinet Affairs, Bengaluru Development and all unallocated portfolios, with himself.

With Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike elections round the corner, it was widely expected that Bengaluru Development would be allocated to a senior Minister from the city, but the CM has retained it with himself, keeping in view the number of aspirants for the plum portfolio.

While most ministers have retained the portfolios held in the previous government, those with major changes include Govind Karjol- water resources, C C Patil- public works, B Sriramulu- transport and ST welfare, Murugesh Nirani- Industries.

K Sudhakar has retained the all important health and medical education department, amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic.

Lone woman minister in the Cabinet Shashikala Jolle has been made in-charge of Muzrai, Wakf & Haj.

She was women & child development minister in the Yediyurappa cabinet and had faced corruption allegations.

New face Halappa Achar is now the women & child development minister, along with the Mines and Geology

portfolio.