Congress clears Karnataka Cabinet expansion, approving 20 new ministers and legislative posts

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 3: Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday said that all MLAs cannot be accommodated in the Cabinet at once, adding that those who miss out on ministerial berths will get opportunities in the future.Speaking to reporters on the Cabinet expansion, Shivakumar said that it was not possible to accommodate all the MLAs in the ministry and recalled that he too had earlier missed out on a ministerial berth in Siddaramaiah's Cabinet."There are many MLAs. It is not possible to accommodate everyone. Earlier, I too missed out on a ministerial berth in Siddaramaiah's Cabinet. But didn't I become a minister later? Similarly, we will provide opportunities to everyone in the future. Right now, I am heading to Lok Bhavan," Shivakumar added."Not possible to accommodate all, will provide opportunities in future": Karnataka CM Shivakumar after Cabinet expansionRead @ANI Story | https://t.co/wJov2bcWYr#Karnataka #Shivakumar #Cabinetexpansion #Accommodate pic.twitter.com/mjzikWToSd— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) August 3, 2026 Cabinet expansion approvedEarlier today, the Congress high command approved the expansion of the DK Shivakumar-led Karnataka Cabinet, clearing the names of 20 ministers, including one woman, Gayathri Shanthegowda. Twelve new faces get a chance, while eight incumbent ministers are retained in the new Cabinet composition.Also Watch:According to an official release, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge approved the induction of PM Narendraswamy, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Rudrappa Lamani, KS Basavanthappa, B Nagendra, T Raghumoorthy, BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, Rizwan Arshad, Santosh Lad, Madhu Bangarappa, Putturangashetty, SS Mallikarjun, Ajay Singh, N Chaluvaraya Swamy, KM Shivalinge Gowda, HC Balakrishna, Gayathri Shanthegowda, Basavaraj Rayareddi, Vijayanand Kashappanavar, and Laxman Savadi as ministers.The oath-taking ceremony of the Karnataka Cabinet expansion will take place at 4:05 pm at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru.Among the approved names, Gayathri Shanthegowda is the only woman minister. The list also includes several new entrants to the Cabinet, including PM Narendraswamy, KS Basavanthappa, T Raghumoorthy, Putturangashetty, Ajay Singh, and Gayathri Shanthegowda, while several former ministers are making a return to the Council of Ministers.The Congress high command also approved appointments to key positions in the Karnataka Legislature. GS Patil has been cleared for the post of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, A. S. Ponnanna for Deputy Speaker, Saleem Ahmed for Chairperson of the Legislative Council, and Umashree for Deputy Chairperson of the Legislative Council.Student Protests: Supreme Court Says States Can Close FIRs, Limits 'Criminal Antecedents' To Grave OffencesHigh command's final callKarnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said the final decision on the Cabinet expansion rested with the Congress high command.Speaking to reporters, Kharge said, "The high command is deciding on it, and we are expecting it to be announced today. We have more than 140 MLAs. We have MLAs in every district. We have MLAs in every community. We have a lot of capable leaders. We have depth in leadership. So, it is going to be difficult to pick only 30 out of the 140 legislators we have."Current ministry compositionThe DK Shivakumar ministry represents the current Council of Ministers in Karnataka, formed following a leadership transition. Operating under the leadership of CM Shivakumar, the administration features a mix of key Cabinet members, including G Parameshwara, KH Muniyappa, KJ George, MB Patil, Ramalinga Reddy, Satish Jarkiholi, Krishna Byre Gowda, Priyank Kharge, UT Khader, Eshwara Khandre, Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah, Byrathi Suresh, and Sharan Prakash Patil.(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 3 (ANI): The Congress high command on Monday approved the induction of 20 leaders into the Karnataka Cabinet as Chief Minister DK Shivakumar carried out a major expansion of his ministry, with the new Council of Ministers reflecting a broad social and regional representation across the state.The Cabinet expansion retains seven Lingayat ministers, the same as in the previous

Bengaluru: Exactly two months after he took oath with 13 ministers on June 3, the Congress high command has given green signal to induct 20 more ministers, completing the State cabinet forming exercise.Besides, the party has also approved to elect new Speaker and Deputy Speaker for the Legislative Assembly as well as to appoint new Chairman and Deputy Chairman for the Legislative Council.20 New ministers approved for inclusion into the Government of Karnataka:PM NarendraswamyShivaraj TangadagiRudrappa LamaniKS BasavanthappaB NagendraT RaghumoorthyBZ Zameer Ahmed KhanRizwan ArshadSantosh LadMadhu BangarappaPutturangashettyMankala VaidyaDr Ajay Singh… pic.twitter.com/UHCO5s2OKu— ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2026 Since there were more than 60 aspirants for the 20 vacant posts, there were pressures from both AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to accommodate their supporters into the cabinet. Besides Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's list, Rahul Gandhi himself was of the opinion that 40% of the cabinet should be represented by young, first time elected members.However, in the run up to the election, the senior party leaders were vary of having a large number of inexperienced members as ministers. It took a long time for the AICC core group to convince Rahul Gandhi that only a couple of newcomers could be accommodated, since the party could not afford to antagonise the senior leaders, who would have grip over their respective districts.VIDEO | Bengaluru: "We are expecting the party high command to announce the list of candidates for the Karnataka cabinet expansion today," says Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge.(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/k6lKsEBSNp— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 3, 2026 Going by the list, D K Shivakumar seems to have had his way to a large extent in having his cabinet colleagues. While B Nagendra, against whom the CBI has filed a charge sheet in ₹ 83 crore Valmiki Nigam Limited scam has found his way back into the cabinet, Madhu Bangarappa, who was in the eye of the storm over goofing up in the primary education department is also in the list of ministers. Both are staunch followers of D K Shivakumar and he also managed to accommodate H C Balakrishna from his own home district of Bengaluru South, N Cheluvarayaswamy and Shivalinge Gowda in the Vokkaliga quota, taking the number of Vokkaliga ministers in the cabinet to five.OMR Serial Number Confusion Triggers Walkout At Karnataka Police Recruitment Exam In Vijayapura, KEA Issues Clarification | Video However, Shivakumar could not accommodate his supporters Shivananda Patil, Tanvir Sait and Laxmi Hebbalkar, while had to to helplessly watch his baiters Zameer Ahamed Khan and Santhosh Lad joining the cabinet.Meanwhile, AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge could not ensure Sharath Bacche Gowda, a close associate of Minister Priyank Kharge to the cabinet. Even Siddaramaiah could not ensure his close confidant Dr H C Mahadevappa getting a cabinet berth.Bankipur Bypoll Result: Prashant Kishor Surges Ahead By 6,419 Votes In Early Counting; BJP Says It's Too Early to Call The Result | Video In total, the party has managed to balance the caste configuration in the cabinet, with extending seven cabinet berths to Lingayats and the additional post of G S Patil as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. There are five Vokkaliga leaders, which is the second largest community. For the first time, Karnataka has seven SC ministers, three from right, two from left, one Lambani and one Bovi community. Besides, there are three ST ministers, taking the SC/ST representation to over 30% in the cabinet.Among the minorities, there are four ministers -- 3 Muslims and one Christian and also the Chairman post for the Legislative Council has been given to Salim Ahamed. There are seven ministers from backward class.