Bengaluru: Ending weeks of speculation, the Karnataka Cabinet will be expanded this evening with the induction of 20 new Ministers at a swearing-in ceremony at the Glass House in Lok Bhavan, Bengaluru.

After weeks of deliberations, the Congress High Command finalised the list of Ministers and conveyed its approval to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. Following this, the CM informed the Raj Bhavan about the Cabinet expansion. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 5 pm.

Eight Legislators will be taking the oath as Ministers for the first time. They are Gayathri Shanthegowda, T. Raghumurthy, K.S. Basavanthappa, H.C. Balakrishna, K.M. Shivalingegowda, Dr. Ajay Singh, Rizwan Arshad and Vijayanand Kashappanavar. The remaining 12 have previously served as Ministers in different Governments.

While the names of most of the inductees had been widely discussed over the past few days, the inclusion of first-time MLC Gayathri Shanthegowda and K.S. Basavanthappa came as a surprise in political circles.

Gayathri Shanthegowda was declared elected to the Legislative Council only last week after the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court upheld her challenge to the election of BJP candidate M.K. Pranesh from the Chikkamagalur Local Authorities’ Constituency in the 2021 Council polls. She will be the lone woman Minister in the D.K. Shivakumar Cabinet.

Confusion over list

There was also confusion over the final list after reports suggested that Mankala Vaidya had initially been included and later replaced by S.S. Mallikarjun. However, the Congress High Command clarified that Vaidya’s name had never been part of the approved list and that its appearance was due to a typo.

Seven of the new Ministers, Shivaraj Tangadagi, B. Nagendra, B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, Santosh Lad, Madhu Bangarappa, S.S. Mallikarjun and N. Chaluvarayaswamy, had also served in the previous Siddaramaiah Cabinet.

Among the new faces are Dr. Ajay Singh, son of former Chief Minister Dharam Singh; Vijayanand Kashappanavar, son of late former Minister Kashappanavar, Rizwan Arshad and T. Raghumurthy.

With the induction of 20 Ministers, the strength of the D.K. Shivakumar Ministry will reach the Constitutionally permitted maximum of 34 members. The expansion comes two months after Shivakumar was sworn-in as Chief Minister along with 13 Ministers on June 3.

The Cabinet expansion, however, has reportedly triggered discontent among party leaders, as districts including Kodagu, Udupi, Vijayanagara, Kolar, Uttara Kannada, Raichur, Yadgir, Chikkaballapur and Gadag have not been represented.

G.S. Patil named Assembly Speaker, A.S. Ponnanna Deputy Speaker

In an apparent move to accommodate senior Legislators left out of the Cabinet, the Congress High Command also announced appointments to key Legislative posts.

Rona MLA G.S. Patil has been named the new Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly while Virajpet MLA A.S. Ponnanna, who earlier served as Legal Adviser to Siddaramaiah, has been appointed Deputy Speaker.

Senior Congress leader Salim Ahmed has been named Chairman of the Legislative Council, while former Minister Umashree has been appointed Deputy Chairperson.

Legislators to be inducted

1. P.M. Narendraswamy (Malavalli-SC, Mandya)

2. Shivaraj Tangadagi (Kanakagiri-SC, Koppal)

3. Rudrappa Lamani (Haveri-SC, Haveri)

4. K.S. Basavanthappa (Mayakonda, Davangere)

5. B. Nagendra (Ballari Rural-ST, Ballari)

6. T. Raghumurthy (Challakere-ST, Chitradurga)

7. B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan (Chamarajpet, Bengaluru City)

8. Rizwan Arshad (Shivajinagar, Bengaluru City)

9. Santosh Lad (Kalaghatgi, Dharwad)

10. Madhu Bangarappa (Soraba, Shivamogga)

11. C. Puttarangashetty (Chamarajanagar)

12. S.S. Mallikarjun (Davangere North)

13. Dr. Ajay Singh (Jewargi, Kalaburagi)

14. N. Chaluvarayaswamy (Nagamangala, Mandya)

15. K.M. Shivalingegowda (Arasikere, Hassan)

16. H.C. Balakrishna (Magadi, Bengaluru South)

17. Gayathri Shanthegowda (MLC, Chikkamagalur)

18. Basavaraj Rayareddi (Yelburga, Koppal)

19. Vijayanand Kashappanavar (Hungund, Bagalkot)

20. Laxman Savadi (Athani, Belagavi)