Two days after Chief Minister Siddaramaih’s entire cabinet was sworn in, the administration assigned portfolios to all 34 ministers late on May 28. While the CM has Finance and IT, Deputy Chief Minister D.K Shivakumar has been assigned to the development of the state’s capital and irrigation ministry. 

Congress achieved a majority with 135 out of 224 seats in the State on May 13. After an intense power struggle within the party, Siddaramaih and D.K Shivakumar were sworn in as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister on May 20, along with 8 other ministers. Post which additional 24 ministers took oath on May 27, thus putting the house in order. 

Karnataka governor Thawarchand Gehlot, on the basis of the CM’s recommendation, allotted portfolios to the entire cabinet.

Apart from the Finance department, the Chief Minister, who has presented 13 State Budgets, has kept Cabinet Affairs, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Intelligence, Information, IT and BT, Infrastructure Development, and all unallocated portfolios.

Shivakumar has got the all-important Major and Medium Irrigation and Bengaluru City Development, including the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority, and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited.

Shivakumar, who hails from the neighbouring Ramanagara district, has been allocated the Bengaluru City Development department despite five MLAs from the city being ministers in the Cabinet. The portfolio is important keeping in mind the upcoming BBMP polls.

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G Parameshwara, who has previously handled the Home department, has once again been allocated the portfolio, MB Patil is the new Large and Medium Industries minister, while KJ Geroge has been given the Energy department portfolio, the Karnataka government announced in a notification released late on Sunday.

HK Patil has been allocated Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Legislation and Tourism, while KH Muniyappa -- a former Union minister for whom this is the first stint in the State Cabinet -- is the new Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs minister.

Ramalinga Reddy has been made the Minister for Transport and Muzrai. Amid speculation that Reddy did not want the Transport department, Shivakumar visited his residence and held discussions on Sunday evening. Reddy contested from BTM layout and has previously held Transport and Home portfolios in 2013-18. He will be tasked with implementing the free bus travel for women poll promise. 

Dinesh Gundu Rao is the Health and Family Welfare minister, while HC Mahadevappa has been given charge of Social Welfare. Public Works has been allocated to Satish Jarakiholi and Revenue to Krishna Byregowda.

Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge is the new Rural Development and Panchayati Raj minister, and Shivanand Patil has been given Textiles, Sugarcane Development and the Directorate of Sugar, Agricultural Marketing from the Cooperation department.

BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan will take charge of Housing, Wakf and Minority Welfare, while Sharanabasappa Darshanapur has been allocated Small Scale Industries and Public Enterprises. Forest, Ecology and Environment has gone to Eshwar Khandre, Agriculture to N Cheluvarayaswamy, Mines and Geology, Horticulture to SS Mallikarjun, Municipal Administration and Haj to Rahim Khan, and Labour to Santhosh S Lad.

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Laxmi R Hebbalkar, the lone woman in the Cabinet, will take charge of the Women and Child Development and the Disabled and Senior Citizens Empowerment portfolios and Sharanaprakash Rudrappa Patil has been allocated the Medical Education and Skill Development portfolio.

Other ministers and their departments include RB Timmapur (Excise), K Venkatesh (Animal Husbandry and Sericulture), Shivaraj Tangadagi (Backward Class, Kannada and Culture), D Sudhakar (Planning and Statistics), B Nagendra (Youth Services, Sports and ST Welfare), KN Rajanna (Co-operation), Suresha BS (Urban Development and Town Planning), and Mankal Vaidya (Fisheries and Ports, Inland Transport).

Madhu Bangarappa will take over the Primary and Secondary Education portfolio, MC Sudhakar will take charge of Higher Education, and NS Boseraju has been allocated Minor Irrigation, Science and Technology.

There was some disgruntlement within the Congress after the Cabinet expansion with several MLAs, who held aspirations of becoming ministers but missed out, having to be pacified by party leaders.

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