DK Shivakumar's Cabinet Is All Set For Expansion With 20 Ministers

The final list of 20 ministerial candidates has been officially approved by Congress chairman Mallikarjun Kharge, and today is the much-awaited expansion of Karnataka chairman Minister DK Shivakumar's cabinet. GS Patil's appointment as the state Legislative Assembly's next speaker has also been endorsed by the party leadership.

The list contains 20 names of the ministers that will be part of the cabinet expansion. The list was given to Chief Minister Shivakumar after Kharge and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi met. Before the cabinet candidates can take the oath, the Chief Minister is required to follow the protocol by sharing it with the Governor, Thaawar Chand Gehlot.

Additionally, GS Patil will be put forward to become the Legislative Assembly's next Speaker. UT Khader, who became the Health Minister in June and joined the Shivakumar administration, had previously held the position.

According to sources, the ministerial candidates' swearing-in event is expected to take place around 4 p.m. The Congress leadership was meticulously evaluating caste, religion, and regional factors while finalizing the list, according to a previous PTI report.

According to sources the news agency cited, the party leadership was trying to find a balance between different social categories and geographical areas.

As per the source, negotiations by the party leadership in Delhi caused the agenda for the upcoming cabinet expansion to be rescheduled from Friday, July 31.

Since Shivakumar took over as chief minister on June 3, it has been discussed for a few weeks. There are currently 20 vacancies in the council of ministers because Karnataka has 14 ministers, including the chief minister, compared to the maximum permitted strength of 34.

The PTI sources added that in addition to Kharge, Gandhi, and Chief Minister Shivakumar, other participants in the cabinet expansion discussions included former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Congress Karnataka president BK Hariprasad.