 "D K Shivakumar with Siddaramaiah")
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s new ministers include members of the Dalit community, one Muslim, a Christian and a Lingayat leader, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday.
Congress leader Siddaramaiah took oath of office on Saturday, with D K Shivakumar as his deputy. Eight MLAs were sworn in as ministers.
The Congress won the Karnataka elections by securing 135 seats out of 224. The BJP got 66 seats to be voted out of power and the Janata Dal (Secular) secured 19 seats in results declared on May 13.
Here is more about the ministers:
G Parameshwara
Parameshwara was the head of Congress' manifesto committee for the elections. He represents the Koratagere constituency in Tumakuru district and belongs to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community.
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The six-time MLA (three times from Madhugiri and three times from Koratagere) has a PhD in plant physiology from Waite Agriculture Research Centre in the University of Adelaide. He is currently representing Koratagere.
Parameshwara briefly held the title of deputy chief minister in the Congress-JD (S) coalition government between 2018-19.
He is the longest-serving Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief, with eight years in the post. He has been open about his aspirations for being either the chief minister or deputy chief minister.
K H Muniyappa
Muniyappa, a former union minister, represents the Devanahalli assembly segment in Bengaluru rural district.
Muniyappa is the Congress leader of the SC-left and it is the first time he has been elected to the legislative assembly. He represented Kolar from 1991 to 2019 in the Lok Sabha.
His daughter, Roopakala M Shashidhar, is also a Congress MLA from Kolar Gold Fields (KGF).
Priyank Kharge
Priyank is the son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and a member of the Dalit community under SC-Right. He represents the Chittapur segment in Kalaburagi district.
He is a three-time MLA and has served as state minister for IT, tourism and social welfare and is associated with the Youth Congress.
Kharge is the Karnataka Congress' communications chairman and has been known to make public jabs at the Opposition.
K J George
George was born in Kerala but moved to Kodagu in Karnataka at a young age. He represents the Sarvagnanagar assembly segment in Bengaluru city and is the only Christian in the 224-member Karnataka assembly.
George, a six-time MLA, has been Minister for Home, Bengaluru Development and Town Planning in his political career.
M B Patil
Patil belongs to the Lingayat community and was Congress’ campaign committee president for the election. He has represented the Babaleshwar Assembly constituency in Vijayapura district since 2008.
The five-time MLA has been a Lok Sabha MP from Bijapur (Vijayapura) and was Minister for Home and Water Resources in a previous state government.
He is president of Bijapur Lingayat Education Association (BLDEA), an education organisation in north Karnataka.
Satish Jarkiholi
Satish Jarkiholi belongs to the Valmiki community, a Scheduled Tribe (ST), and represents the Yamakanmardi Assembly constituency in Belagavi district. Before joining the Congress, he was with the JD (S).
He is a four-time MLA and was twice a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC). Jarkiholi has served as Minister for Excise and Textile in the past and he is a KPCC working president.
Jarkiholi is the founder-chairman of sugar manufacturing firm, Satish Sugars. His brothers, Ramesh and Balachandra, are BJP MLAs representing Gokak and Arabhavi legislative constituencies.
Ramalinga Reddy
Ramalinga belongs to the Reddy community and represents Bommanahalli, Tavarekere and Madiwala (BTM) Layout in Bengaluru city.
He is an eight-time MLA and has served as Minister of Home, Transport and Education, among other portfolios. He began his political career with Congress' student wing. Reddy is a KPCC working president, too.
B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan
Khan, an influential figure Muslim figure, represents the Chamrajpet assembly segment in Bengaluru city. The five-time MLA was with JD (S) before joining the Congress in 2008. Khan has previously served as the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, as well as Minority Welfare.
Siddaramaiah and his new cabinet have to fulfill the five guarantees the Congress promised in the elections:
Gruha Jyothi will provide monthly 200 units of free electricity to every household.
Gruha Lakshmi will grant Rs 2,000 every month to the woman head of every family
Anna Bhagya will distribute monthly 10 kg of rice to every member of families below the poverty line.
Yuva Nidhi sanctioned Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders every month for two years (in the 18-25 age group)
Shakti provides free travel for women in ordinary public transport buses across Karnataka.
