KARNATAKA Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday expanded his 17-month old Cabinet, inducting seven ministers and indicated that excise minister H Nagesh would be dropped. Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Ministers at a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan. The new Ministers are MLAs Umesh Katti (Hukkeri), S Angara (Sullia), Murugesh Nirani (Bilgi) and Arvind Limbavali (Mahadevapura), and MLCs R Shankar, M T B Nagaraj and C P Yogeshwar. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, his Cabinet colleagues, BJP leaders and office bearers, including General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Arun Singh, state unit President Nalin Kumar Kateel, senior State Government officials, family members and supporters of the new Ministers, among others, were present.

 

This is the third expansion of the Cabinet since Yediyurappa assumed charge in July 2019 after the collapse of the Congress-JDS Government in the wake of revolt by 17 MLAs of the coalition partners. It’s a mix of the old guard and new entrants from Congress and JDS who made it into the Cabinet. Keeping up the promise, Congress-JD(S) rebels-turned BJP MLCs R Shankar and M T B Nagaraj, who helped the BJP come to power, were inducted by Yediyurappa. Both of them had served as Ministers in the coalition Government. Another MLC Yogeshwar, who is said to have played a key role by managing Congress-JD(S) rebel MLAs during the political turmoil in the state in 2019, was also inducted into the Ministry. He too was a Minister in the previous BJP Government.

 

Among the BJP old guard who made it to the Cabinet were Katti, Angara, Nirani and Limbavali. While Katti (eight time MLA), Nirani and Limbavali (State BJP Vice President) were Ministers in the previous BJP Government, for Angara (six times MLA), this will be his first stint as the Minister. While announcing the induction of seven new ministers earlier in the day, Yediyurappa indicated that Excise Minister H Nagesh will be dropped from the Ministry, thereby keeping one berth vacant in the State Cabinet, which can have a maximum strength of 34 members.