Karnataka Cabinet expansion: All you need to know about 24 ministers

Within a week of assuming power, the Congress government in Karnataka expanded its cabinet filling all portfolios on Saturday (May 27). The party has also given a chance to several veteran Congress leaders and former ministers and in its second list.

However, the most surprising element in the cabinet expansion is the induction of Congress national secretary N S Boseraju. He is a member of neither the legislative council nor the legislative assembly. Boseraju is considered to be close to the Congress high command. His inclusion was finalised in the last minute after much deliberation.

Among those who got ministerial berths are former chief ministers R Gundu Rao’s son Dinesh Gundu Rao and S Bangarappa’s son Madhu Bangarappa.

Here is a brief description of the 24 ministers who took the oath of office on Saturday (May 27):

H K Patil, 69-year-old MLA from Gadag, is a staunch Congress man and a seasoned politician. He has in the past held portfolios of textile, water resources, agriculture, law and parliamentary affairs as well as rural development and panchayati raj. He comes from a political family. His father K H Patil was also an MLA from Gadag.

Krishna Byre Gowda is a five-time MLA, twice from Vemgal in Kolar and thrice from Byatarayanapura in Bengaluru city. The 50-year-old legislator was a minister for rural development and panchayati raj. He also held the portfolios of agriculture and law and parliamentary affairs. He holds a post-graduate degree in international affairs from the School of International Service at American University in Washington DC.

N Cheluvarayaswamy switched from JD(S) to Congress in 2018 ahead of the assembly elections. However, he lost that election. He is a four-time MLA from Nagamangala. He was a Lok Sabha member in 2009 but resigned in 2013 to contest in the assembly polls on a JD(S) ticket from Nagamangala, his favourite constituency.

K Venkatesh is a five-time MLA from Periyapatna. The 75-year-old Congress MLA was previously with the Janata Dal. He later joined the Congress and became an MLA in 2013. In 2018, he lost to K Mahadeva of the JD(S). He bounced back by winning the recent 2023 election.

Dr H C Mahadevappa is an MBBS graduate. Belonging to the Scheduled Caste community, the 70-year-old MLA from T Narasipur was previously with the JD(S) and switched over to the Congress. He was the public works minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government.

Congress-working president Eshwar Khandre comes from a political family. His father Bheemanna Khandre was also a minister in the Karnataka government. Four-time MLA from Bhalki in Bidar constituency, the 61-year-old Khandre is an engineering graduate.

Former state Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao comes from an illustrious family. His father late R Gundu Rao was the chief minister from 1980 to 1983. A BE from BMS College, Rao continued his winning streak without any break for the sixth time in 2023. He was the food and civil supplies minister from 2015 to 2016.

Kyathasandra N Rajanna is a 72-year-old leader from the Scheduled Tribe community. He is an advocate and agriculturist. He was an MLA from Madhugiri assembly constituency in 2013.

Sharanabasappa Darshanapur is a five-time MLA from Shahapur constituency in Yadgir district. The 62-year-old leader is a BE in civil engineering. His father Bapugouda Darshanapur was a three-time MLA from Shahapur and was also a minister in the Karnataka government.

Shivanand Patil, a four-time MLA from Basavana Bagewadi, was minister for health and family welfare from 2018 to 2019 in the coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy.

Ramappa Balappa Timmapur is a three-time MLA from Mudhol. In 2023, he won by defeating sitting minister Govind Karjol, who was a five-time MLA from the same constituency. Timmapur was minister for sugar, port and inland transport of Karnataka.

S S Mallikarjun is an educationist who elected from Davangere North. He is the son of veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, the 92-year-old MLA from Davangere South. He is also the chairman of the prestigious SS Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre, Davangere.

Shivaraj Sangappa Tangadagi, 52, is a three-time MLA from Kanakagiri constituency in Koppal district.

Dr Sharanaprakash Patil is a medical practitioner and a four-time MLA from Sedam constituency in Kalaburagi district.

Mankal S Vaidya was elected twice from Bhatkal-Honnavar constituency in the coastal district of Uttara Kannada.

Laxmi Hebbalkar is a 48-year-old MLA from Belagavi Rural. She is a second-time winner from the constituency. She is considered to be close to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Also read: Karnataka Cabinet expansion: 24 ministers inducted in Siddaramaiah’s Ministry

Rahim Khan, 57, MLA from Bidar North constituency, was the youth empowerment and sports minister in the coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy.

D Sudhakar is a three-time MLA from Hiriyur in Chitradurga district. The 62-year-old Congress legislator had served as minister for social welfare from 2008 to 2009.

Santosh Lad, 48, is an MLA from Kalghatgi constituency in Dharwad district. He has a bachelor’s degree in commerce and hails from a business family.

Suresha B S is a two-time MLA who made it to the state cabinet.

Madhu Bangarappa, 56, is the son of former Chief Minister S Bangarappa. Previously associated with JD(S), he won from the Soraba constituency in Shivamogga district by defeating his brother Kumar Bangarappa of the BJP.

Dr M C Sudhakar is an MLA from Chintamani constituency in Chikkaballapura district. The 54-year-old legislator made it to the state Assembly for a third time. He is a dental surgeon.

B Nagendra is a Congress MLA from Ballari constituency. He is a giant killer who defeated former minister B Sriramulu in the recently concluded assembly election from Ballari Rural.

(With agency inputs)