From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Aug 4: Within a week after taking over from former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Karnataka’s new Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has managed to secure the BJP High Command’s green signal for expanding his Cabinet with 29 members.

Unlike Yediyurappa, who had to wait for nearly two months to expand his cabinet, Bommai has been able to not only get the high command’s nod to expand his ministry. While Yediyurappa had three Deputy Chief Ministers, Bommai’s Cabinet will not have any Deputy Chief Ministers.

Kota Srinivas Poojary, MLC, from Byndoor and newcomer S Angara from Sullia in Dakshina Kannada have made it as ministers.

Speaking to media representatives in Vidhana Soundha ahead of the scheduled Cabinet expansion in Raj Bhavan at 2.15 pm, the Chief Minister said the ministry will have 29 members, which will include a woman.

He said the ministers will be a mix of experienced persons and newcomers to ensure that the government and the ruling party is geared to meet the challenges and also prepare for the ensuing electoral battles.

CM Bommai later met former chief minister B S Yediyurappa. 

Eight including DCM Savadi dropped

As many as eight former ministers in the Yediyurappa Cabinet – Jagadish Shettar, S Suresh Kumar, Aravind Limbavali, Laxman Savadi, C P Yogeshwar, R Shankar and Shrimanth Patil – have been dropped. This includes former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi is out of the cabinet.

There will be seven members from the dominant Vokkaliga community while his own Lingayat community will have eight. As many as seven persons from Other Backward Classes, three from Scheduled Castes and one from Scheduled Tribes will comprise the cabinet, the Chief Minister said.

Bommai thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J P Nadda for swiftly clearing the list of ministers and sorting out all the ticklish issues pertaining to ministry formation.

With Karnataka’s total strength of 224 members in the Assembly and 75 members in the Council, the State can have a maximum of 34 members in the ministry.

List of ministers to be sworn in:

1. K S Eshwarappa - Shivamogga
2. R Ashok – Bengaluru – Padmanabha Nagaar
3. B C Patil – Hirekerur
4. Dr C N Ashwath Narayan – Malleswaram- Bengaluru
5. Umesh V Katti – Hukkeri
6. S T Somashekar – Yeshwanthpur – Bengaluru
7. Dr K Sudhakar – Chikkaballapur
8. Byrathi Basavaraj- K R Puruam - Bengaluru
9. Murugesh R Nirani – Bilagi – Bagalkot
10. Shivaram Hebbar – Yellapur – Uttara Kannada
11. Shashikala Jolle – Nippani – Belagavi
12. K C Narayana Gowda – K R Pete
13. Sunil Kumar – Karkala – Dakshina Kannada
14. Araga Jnanedra – Thirthahalli – Shivamogga
15. Govind Karjol – Mudhol
16. Munirathna - R R Nagar
17. M T B Nagaraj – MLC
18. S Gopalaiah – Mahalakshmi Layout
19. J C Madhuswamy – Madhugiri – Tumakuru
20. Halappa Achar –Yelburga
21. Shankar Patil Munenakoppa – Navalgunda
22. Kota Srinivas Poojari – MLC
23. Prabhu Chavan – Aurad
24. V Somanna – Govindarajanagar – Bengaluru
25. S Angara – Sullia – Dakshina Kannada
26. Anand Singh – Hosapete – Ballari
27. C C Patil – Nargund
28. B C Nagesh – Tipturu – Tumakuru
29. B Sriramulu - Molakalmuru