Congress clears 18 names for Karnataka Cabinet expansion, oath likely on Monday
The Congress high command moved closer to finalising the long-awaited expansion of the Karnataka Cabinet, with sources saying that around 18 names have been cleared
The Congress high command moved closer to finalising the long-awaited expansion of the Karnataka Cabinet, with sources saying that around 18 names have been cleared during a meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in New Delhi on Friday. The second phase of the cabinet expansion is now likely to culminate in a swearing-in ceremony at 5 pm on Monday.
Read Full Story The meeting was attended by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala and Karnataka Congress president BK Hariprasad. According to sources, the leadership cleared 16-18 names from the list submitted by CM Shivakumar, Hariprasad and Siddaramaiah.
The new cabinet is expected to include a mix of senior leaders and first-time ministers, with the party seeking to balance caste, regional and religious representation. According to news agency PTI, the final list is expected to be formally approved by Sunday night or Monday morning, following which the oath-taking ceremony is likely to be held on Monday evening.
The expansion had earlier been expected on Friday but was delayed after further consultations among the party's central leadership. The cabinet expansion has been pending since CM Shivakumar took office as chief minister on June 3. Karnataka currently has 14 ministers, including the chief minister, against the maximum permissible strength of 34, leaving 20 vacancies in the council of ministers. Ends
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