New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has overcame the turmoil of factionalism and expanded the Karnataka Cabinet. As many as 24 ministers of Kannada state were sworn in on Saturday. They took oath in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
On the day of the swearing-in of the chief minister and deputy chief minister, eight senior leaders took oath as ministers.
In all, 34 people have been inducted into the Karnataka cabinet. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are equal to leaders of the two groups It was challenging to form a cabinet with dignity. Perhaps that is why the names of the new ministers have been decided in Delhi and in consultation with the party’s top leadership. The Congress claimed that all religions and all communities have been given due importance in the formation of the cabinet.
Karnataka’s new cabinet has six representatives from the dominant Lingayat community. The cabinet has one representative each from the sub-communities that have separate divisions among the Lingayats. Shivakumar has four representatives from his own Vokkaliga community in the new cabinet. Three are from scheduled castes, two from scheduled tribes. Five OBCs. Almost all communities of Muslims, Brahmins and upper castes have one representative each in the cabinet.
