Karnataka: Congress to follow caste equations in cabinet formation

Bengaluru: The complexity surrounding the formation of a functional government at Vidhana Soudha, the center of political power, seems to be increasing with each passing day. Despite securing a resounding majority in the recent Assembly election, the Congress party is struggling to form the cabinet even after almost two weeks. While the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and Speaker have assumed their positions, both the CM and his deputy are still awaiting their portfolios.

The Congress party has made concerted efforts to incorporate a "social justice" perspective by allocating cabinet positions to representatives from various communities. The potential ministers in Siddaramaiah's ministry include Ishwara Khandre (Bhalki) and Sivananda Patil (Basavanbagewadi) from the Lingayat community, Sharanbasappa Darshanapura (Shahapur) from the Reddy Lingayat community, Lakshmi Hebbalkar (Belagavi Rural), and S.S. Mallikarjuna (Davanagere North) from the Panchamasali community.

Dr. MC Sudhakar (Chintamani), Cheluvarayaswamy (Nagamangala), and K. Venkatesh (Piriyapatnam) have been appointed ministers representing the Vokkaliga community. Nagendra (Bellari Rural) represents the ST community, while P. represents the SC community. Narendra Swamy (Malavalli) and Shivraj Thangadagi (Kanakagiri) represent the Bovi community, and Bairati Suresh (Hebbal) represents the Kuruba Samaj community, all securing ministerial positions.

Rahim Khan from the Muslim community (Bidar), D. Sudhakar from the Jain community (Hiriyur), Ajay Singh from the Rajput community (Jewargi), and C. from the Uppara community have also been identified as potential ministers. Puttaranga Shetty (Chamarajanagar) and Mankala Vaidya (Bhatkal) from the Mogaveera community have reportedly been finalized for ministerial roles.