Bengaluru: A bit of over two weeks after the Congress secured a thumping majority on this month’s Karnataka meeting elections, portfolios have been lastly assigned to round 34 ministers within the newly-formed state cupboard, after state Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot authorized the checklist within the early hours of Monday.
Whereas Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has saved the finance portfolio for himself, Deputy CM D.Okay. Shivakumar obtained irrigation and Bengaluru Metropolis growth departments.
Siddaramaiah will even head the intelligence, personnel and administrative affairs, electronics data expertise biotechnology (IT/BT) and infrastructure growth departments, in addition to all different unallocated portfolios.
G. Parameshwara, who held the house portfolio within the earlier Siddaramaiah authorities between 2015 and 2017, has retained it within the new cupboard.
The Bengaluru Metropolis growth portfolio, secured by Shivakumar, is a vital one, as the town of Bengaluru is the best income generator in Karnataka and among the many largest within the nation.
Through the previous 4 years of the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) authorities within the state, spanning 2019 to 2013, this explicit portfolio had been retained by the CM.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP, the town’s civic physique) has been with out an elected council since September 2020 and Shivakumar will now be in-charge of all companies associated to India’s IT capital, together with Bengaluru Growth Authority (BDA), Bengaluru Metro, metropolis company, sewerage board and others.
Elections to the Karnataka meeting have been held on 10 Might, and the announcement of outcomes on 13 Might — Congress received 135 of 224 meeting seats — was adopted by about 4 days of intense discussions on deciding the CM, with supporters of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar pushing for his or her respective chief.
Although there’s stated to be an understanding that Shivakumar will take over the reins of the federal government after about two years, the celebration excessive command has made no official announcement to this impact, folks conscious in regards to the state of affairs informed ThePrint.
This has already added to rising tensions between the Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar-led camps. Celebration sources informed ThePrint that the battle for dominance continued with supporters of the CM and deputy CM claiming the next illustration from their respective camps within the newly-formed cupboard.
In line with the sources, Siddaramaiah has managed to get a number of of his supporters key portfolios. regardless that the opposing camp refused to acknowledge this.
“We obtained about 32-33 [ministers] of our checklist authorized,” stated a Siddaramaiah supporter, requesting anonymity.
The Shivakumar camp, nonetheless, supplied a unique calculation.
“We obtained round 10 of our folks in, and the identical quantity is true of Siddaramaiah as properly. There are some members, like M.B. Patil, Krishna Byre Gowda, H.Okay. Patil, Priyank Kharge, amongst others, who’re high-command appointees,” stated an individual from the Shivakumar camp, requesting anonymity.
ThePrint has reached Shivakumar for touch upon name and textual content message, the copy will probably be up to date as soon as a remark is obtained.
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Battle over portfolios
Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had locked horns over the CM’s publish, with the latter conceding the publish to Siddaramaiah after a “verbal assurance” that he would take over the reins after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in keeping with sources.
As a way to break the impasse, the celebration excessive command supplied Shivakumar perks similar to retaining the publish of president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and being the one deputy CM within the state.
Nevertheless, the rivalry between the 2 spilled over to the cupboard appointments as properly, in keeping with sources.
The Siddaramaiah supporter quoted above stated that the IT/BT portfolio, presently underneath the CM, will probably be given out to a different cupboard member, as some modifications have been anticipated within the allocations, with two vacancies remaining.
Individuals who have been perceived as siding with Siddaramaiah in his battle with Shivakumar — like MLAs N. Chaluvaraya Swamy, Krishna Byre Gowda, Ramalinga Reddy, Okay.J. George, Satish Jarkiholi and a number of other others — have bagged key portfolios.
“Aside from Laxmi Hebbalkar and M.C. Sudhakar, a lot of the ministers are on our aspect,” the particular person quoted above stated, a declare dismissed by the Shivakumar camp.
Amongst different cupboard appointees, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s son, Priyank Kharge, obtained the agricultural growth and panchayat raj portfolios, whereas Satish Jarkiholi and Ramalinga Reddy have been given the general public works division and transport portfolios, respectively.
Krishna Byre Gowda, in the meantime, has been entrusted with the income division.
The brand new ministers of the Siddaramaiah authorities have their work lower out for them as it’s going to first have to search out methods to fulfil its ensures, which embrace 200 items of free energy, Rs 2,000 for each woman-headed family, Rs 1,500-3,000 for unemployed graduates and diploma holders and 10 kg free rice.
The chief minister has stated that these schemes will value the exchequer Rs 50,000 crore yearly, and the federal government must lower down on “wasteful expenditure” to fund them.
In the meantime, political consultants and Opposition events have already upped the ante in opposition to the Congress over the monetary influence these schemes can have on the state.
A number of leaders of the Opposition, like former CM Basavaraj Bommai and H.D. Kumaraswamy, have stated that the Congress is delaying its ballot promise. Bommai even referred to as the Congress authorities “reverse gear” since they have been backtracking on their guarantees.
A bit of Opposition members has additionally requested the folks of their constituencies and different components to not pay electrical energy payments because the Congress authorities has assured 200 items of free energy.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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