Third Cabinet For Karnataka In Three Years Since 2018 Elections

Almost 10 days after Karnataka’s cabinet was dissolved with the resignation of former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, the new set of ministers was sworn in today at the Raj Bhavan in capital city Bengaluru.

While the announcement of a new cabinet was made earlier in the day by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who landed in the city today after three days of cabinet contemplation in Delhi, the list was kept under wraps fuelling speculation until the ceremony.

Among the first to take oath and join Bommai’s cabinet were old timers who held key portfolios in the last cabinet like five-time minister Govinda Karjol, four-time minister R Ashok, who held Revenue earlier, six-time minister K S Eshwarappa, B Sriramulu who held Health and Family welfare first and then Social Welfare, six-time minister V Somanna who earlier held the Housing, former Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwathnarayan and eight-time legislator from Hukkeri Umesh V Katti, seven-time MLA S Antara from Sullia — both of whom were given a ministerial berth recently in the third expansion of Yediyurappa’s cabinet.

Among those who have retained the berths from the Yediyurappa cabinet include Nargund legislator and former Minister of State for Information and Public Relations, and Small Scale Industries, C C Patil, legislator of Hospete of the newly carved Vijayanagara district Anand Singh, Kota Srinivasa Poojary who held the Ministry of HRCE Muzarai and Backward Class Welfare, former minister for animal husbandry, Prabhu Chawan, former Mines and Geology Minister and one of the top finalists for the chief minister's post Murugesh R. Nirani.

Legislator of Teerthahalli Araga Jnanendra, Karkala legislator V Sunil Kumar, Yalaburga legislator Halappa Achar, Shankar Patul Munenakoppa from Navalagunda and RR Nagar legislator Muniratna make their maiden entry into the cabinet.

Ten of the 17 defectors, whose exit from the former JDS-Congress coalition led to the fall of the government, have also been given a place in the cabinet.

A Shivaram Hebbar, Anand Singh, Byrathi Basavaraj, Dr S Sudhakar, K C Narayana Gowda (K R Pete), K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi layout), B C Patil, MTB Nagaraj, K C Narayana Gowda (JD(S)) and Muniratna are now in the Bommai cabinet.

The lone woman representative in the cabinet is Shashikala Annasaheb Jolle, whose arrival to the Raj Bhavan made news as the minister‘s delayed arrival from Delhi is said to have necessitated zero traffic movement from the airport, which is usually facilitated only in cases of medical emergency.

Jolle was recently accused by the Congress of corruption relating to the distribution of eggs to anganwadi children in the state.

The major exits this time around have been that of former chief minister and Minister for Industry in the BSY cabinet Jagadeesh Shettar, Education Minister S Suresh Kumar, and deputy CM Laxman Savadi, while Shrikant Patil and R Shankar are among the defectors who have found no place in the cabinet.

While this gives the state a cabinet finally, it also marks the beginning of unrest within the power circles in the run-up to the elections. While the tremors had already begun to be felt with Deputy Speaker Anand Mamani, who had threatened to resign, taking back his resignation, supporters of various leaders who were greatly expected to but didn't make it to the cabinet were also seen protesting across the state.

With the state elections due in 2023, one hopes this third cabinet is the last one this electoral term, so the government gets to work rather than busies itself with formation and dismantling every few months.