Karnataka cabinet: Siddaramaiah keeps finance, IT-BT; Bengaluru development & irrigation for DKS

The Congress party is relying on Siddaramaiah, who has previously presented 13 state budgets as finance minister, to ensure the implementation of the five poll guarantees.

More than a week after CM Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar were sworn in as Karnataka's CM and deputy CM, respectively, along with eight cabinet ministers on May 20, portfolios have been allocated for ministers.

An additional 24 ministers took their oath on May 27.

In a notification dated May 28, Karnataka governor Thawarchand Gehlot approved the Chief Minister's recommendation regarding the allocation of portfolios for the ministers.

According to to the list, Siddaramaiah retains finance, cabinet affairs,  intelligence, department of personnel and administrative reforms, information and other unallocated portfolios.

Siddaramaiah also keeps Information technology & bio technology. Sources said both Congress leaders MB Patil and Priyank Kharge were on the race for IT-BT portfolio.  He will also handle crucial Infrastructure Development Department portfolio, which is responsible for the execution of 148-Km Bengaluru suburban rail project at a cost of Rs 15,767 crore.

Shivakumar gets Bengaluru city development and major & medium irrigation. The Bengaluru city development portfolio will include the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), responsible for executing the city's crucial Metro rail project, as well as important departments lke BBMP, BDA, BWSSB and BMRDA.

Implementation of 'freebies'

The Congress party is relying on Siddaramaiah, who has previously presented 13 state budgets as finance minister, to ensure the implementation of the five poll guarantees, which are estimated to cost over Rs 50,000 crore-Rs 60,000 crore per year.

MB Patil made the minister for large & medium industries. Patil, Lingayat strongman and five-time MLA, previously served as the minister of home affairs in HD Kumaraswamy's cabinet (2018-2019) and held the water resources portfolio in Siddaramaiah's previous term (2013-2018).

BTM Layout MLA Ramalinga Reddy, who previously held the home and transport portfolios in Siddaramaiah's cabinet (2013-2018), got the transport and muzrai portfolios. Reddy will be responsible for implementing the Congress poll guarantee to provide free bus passes for women passengers across the state.

Sarvagnanagar MLA KJ George gets the energy portfolio, which includes the task of implementing another Congress guarantee of providing 200 units of free power to households. Santhosh S Lad, MLA from Kalagatagi constituency in the Dharwad district, got the labour portfolio.

Byrathi Suresh, Hebbal MLA and a close confidant of Siddaramaiah, received the urban development & town planning (excluding Bengaluru city development) portfolio.

Priyank, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the incumbent MLA from Chittapur, received rural development and panchayat raj.

Other ministers and their portfolios are as follows:

G Parameshwara: Home (excluding intelligence)
HK Patil: Law and parliamentary affairs, legislation, tourism
Sharanabasappa Darshanapur: Small scale industries, public sector industries
KH Muniyappa: Food & civil supplies, consumer affairs
Satish Jarkiholi: Public works
BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan: Housing, wakf, and minority welfare.
Krishna Byregowda: Revenue (excluding Muzrai)
Dinesh Gundurao: Health and family welfare
N Chaluvarayaswamy: Agriculture
K Venkatesh: Animal husbandry & sericulture
HC Mahadevappa: Social welfare
Eshwar Khandre: Forest, ecology, and environment
KN Rajanna: Co-operation excluding agriculture marketing.
Shivanand Patil: Textiles, sugarcane development & directorate of sugar, agricultural marketing from co-operation department
Timmapur Ramappa Balappa: Excise
SS Mallikarjun: Mines & geology, horticulture
Tangadagi Shivaraj Sangappa: Backward class, Kannada and culture.
Sharanaprakash Rudrappa Patil: Medical education and skill development
Mankal Vaidya: Fisheries & ports, inland transport
Laxmi R Hebbalkar: women & child development, disabled & senior citizens empowerment
Rahim Khan: Municipal administration, Haj
D Sudhakar: Planning & statistics
NS Boseraju: Minor irrigation, science and technology
Madhu Bangarappa: Primary and secondary education
Dr MC Sudhakar: Higher educationB Nagendra: Youth services, sports and ST welfare.