Karnataka ministry finally expanded

The coalition government in Karnataka has crossed a major hurdle by finally expanding its council of ministers by inducting 20 new ministers. Governor T N Chaturvedi administered the oath of office and secrecy to them in Bangalore on Wednesday. With this, chief minister N Dharam Singh has been able to finally meet a deadline which had been repeatedly extended.

Business and industry have expressed hope that with most of the ministerial team in place and the first phase of jockeying for power over, the administration will be able to get down to addressing urgent economic issues like Bangalore's infrastructure needs and giving rural development a push forward.

According to deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah, "This (expansion) has put an end to the debate that was going on for the last six months. It had overshadowed the achievements of the coalition government."

Nine ministers from Congress were sworn-in with Cabinet rank, whereas nine out of 11 Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) ministers have been given the Cabinet rank, with the remaining two sworn in as ministers of state.

Speaking to mediapersons after the swearing-in ceremony, the chief minister said that portfolios for all the new ministers will be allocated within a day or two.

Hinting at relieving some of the existing ministers holding additional portfolios as well as reorganisation of the entire ministry, Singh said, "Though allocation of portfolios is the prerogative of the chief minister, I will do it in consultation with our coalition partner, including its party chief."

With the second phase of ministry making taking place six months after the first round, the coalition ministry is currently 32-strong along with the chief minister and the deputy chief minister.

According to the Maharashtra formula of cabinet formation, adopted by the coalition partners, the Congress has two more slots to fill in to complete the total strength of 34, as dictated by the constitutional now in force.

Of the 30 ministers, 27 hold cabinet rank (14 from the JD-S and 13 from Congress). One candidate from Congress (Tanveer Sait) and two candidates from the JD-S are ministers of state.

As to when the Congress would induct two more ministers to complete its quota in the ministry, Singh said the third or final phase of Cabinet expansion would take place at an appropriate time after the party high command approves the names. "We will see when we can do it. It may take some more time," Singh added.

Sources say that the induction of former minister R V Deshpande was stiffly opposed by the JD-S. But another Congress aspirant, D K Shivakumar, did not make it as a result of his rivalry with JD-S supremo H D Deve Gowda going back to the days of the erstwhile S M Krishna government.

While the ministry expansion will relieve the state leadership of some pressure, it is also expected to cause some resentment among strong ministerial aspirants from both the Congress and JD-S camps who have been left out.

There is also a geographical dimension to the disappointment. Several districts, including Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Shimoga, Kodagu and Chikamagalur are unrepresented in the ministry.

The nine cabinet ministers from the Congress are: R V Deshpande (Uttara Kannada district), Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli (Bidar), H K Patil (Gadag), Ramalinga Reddy (Bangalore Urban), Y Nagappa (Davanagere), Anjana Murthy (Bangalore rural), B Shivaram (Hassan), Jabbar Khan Honnali (Dharwad) and Bhagarathi Marula Siddanagowda (Bellary).

The nine cabinet ministers from the JD-S are: H C Mahadevappa (Mysore), Basavaraj Horatti (Dharwad), Chennigappa (Tumkur), D T Jayakumar (Mysore), H S Mahadev Prasad (Chamarajanagar), Amare Gowda Bayyapura (Koppal), Cheluvaraya Swamy (Mandya), A Srinivasulu (Kolar) and Iqbal Mohammed Ansari (Raichur).

The two ministers of state from the JD-S are: B Satyanarayana (Tumkur) and Satish Jarkhiholi (Belgaum). Interestingly, there is only one woman minister (Bhagirathi) in the entire ministry, representing the Congress.