Major reshuffle in Karnataka cabinet as BS Yediyurappa allocates portfolios to 7 new ministers

Bengaluru: A week after expanding his cabinet, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday allocated portfolios to the seven new inductees and also effected a reshuffle of the departments of some ministers. Among the new Ministers, Umesh Katti gets the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs while S Angara has been given Fisheries, Ports and Inland Transport.

Murugesh Nirani will be the Mines and Geology minister and Arvind Limbavali gets Forest Department, according to an official gazette notification issued in this regard with the consent of the Governor. Among the others, R Shankar gets Municipal Administration and Sericulture portfolio while MTB Nagaraj would is the Excise Minister and CP Yogeshwar in charge of Minor Irrigation department.

In a significant reshuffle, JC Madhuswamy has been divested of Law, Parliamentary Affairs, Legislation and Minor Irrigation portfolios and allocated Medical Education, Kannada and Culture departments. Madhuswamy was the key minister who used to put up a strong defence of the government in the Assembly The Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Legislationdepartment has been given to Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai as an additional portfolio.

The Forest Department has been taken back from Anand Singh, who has now been given the Tourism portfolio in addition to Environment and Ecology; while the responsibility of the Medical Education Department has been taken back from health and Family Welfare Minister K Sudhakar. CC Patil, who earlier held the Mines and Geologyportfolio has now been given charge of Small Scale Industries and Information and Public Relations department also.

Minister Kota Srinivas Poojari has been relieved from the responsibility of Fisheries, Ports and Inland TransportDepartment and will now have Muzrai and Backward Classes Welfare Department. While Haj and Wakf Department has been taken back from animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan; Labour Minister AShivaram Hebbar has been divested of the Sugar department.

K Gopalaiah, who has been divested of the Food, civil supplies and Consumers Affairs Department, has now been made in charge of Horticulture and Sugar departments and KC Narayana Gowda has been given Youth Empowerment, Sports, Haj and Wakf Departments, while Municipal Administration, Horticulture and Sericulture departments have been taken back from him. The Chief Minister has kept the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), Cabinet Affairs, Finance, Bangalore Development, Energy, Intelligence, Planning, Programme Monitoring Statistics, Infrastructure Development and all unallocated portfolios with himself.

According to sources, there is resentment among some ministers about portfolios allocated to them and are likely to meet the Chief Minister in this regard. Ending a long wait, Yediyurappa had expanded his 17-month old cabinet on 13 January, by inducting seven ministers as he also dropped H Nagesh who was holding the Excise portfolio.

Also, several MLAs had expressed serious reservations about MLCs not elected by the people being made Ministers, lack of representation with most Ministers still from Bengaluru and Belagavi districts, and also on their "seniority or sacrifice" not being considered. There are now 33 Ministers in the cabinet, whose total strength is 34.