Karnataka portfolios: Siddaramaiah keeps Finance, Shivakumar gets Bengaluru Development 

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced portfolios to the recently inducted ministers of his cabinet on Sunday. He has decided to keep Finance, Cabinet Affairs, Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Intelligence, Information, and all other unallocated portfolios. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was allocated crucial ministries like Bengaluru City Development and Major and Medium Irrigation.

• The portfolio distribution follows weeks of suspense and hullabaloo, first over the CM post and then over cabinet berths, which were smoothed up by the intervention of the high command.
• Following a stunning victory, the Congress adopted the Rajasthan model of rotating chief ministers in Karnataka as well.
• The party won 135 seats in the 224-seat Karnataka Assembly, while the BJP received just 66.

According to the Raj Bhawan list, former Chief Minister and prominent Congress leader G Parameshwara has been assigned the Home Ministry, while HK Patil has been given Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Legislation, and Tourism. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's son, Priyank Kharge, got the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, while Dinesh Gundu Rao was given the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Per the official document, Krishna Byregowda will head the Revenue Department (excluding Muzrai), while Dr. HC Mahadevappa—a practicing doctor—would head the Social Welfare Ministry. Congress National Secretary NS Boseraju, who is not a member of either House, has received the Minor Irrigation and Science and Technology awards. Laxmi Hebbalkar, the only woman minister in Siddaramaiah's cabinet, has been assigned Women and Child Welfare.

Reportedly, the ministers include eight Lingayats, including the sole woman minister Hebbalkar; seven from Scheduled Castes; five Vokkaligas; two Muslims; three from Scheduled Tribe communities; and six from Other Backward Class (OBC) groups, including one Maratha, one Brahmin, one Christian, and one Jain. Senior ministers have been assigned important ministries for the implementation of five "guarantees" announced by the Congress government.

The Karnataka cabinet expansion decision was reportedly made after Siddaramaiah and his deputy Shivakumar met with party general secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala on May 25 in New Delhi. The names of 24 candidates were discussed and forwarded to Congress President Kharge, who reportedly approved the same. Notably, the two leaders also met former party chiefs, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.