Ajay Singh inducted into State Cabinet for first time; Kalaburagi gets third ministerial berth
Three-time Congress MLA from the Jewargi Assembly constituency Ajay Singh was inducted into the State Cabinet for the first time, during the expansion of the
Three-time Congress MLA from the Jewargi Assembly constituency Ajay Singh was inducted into the State Cabinet for the first time, during the expansion of the Cabinet led by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday, becoming the third Minister from Kalaburagi district. Singh, son of former Chief Minister late Dharam Singh, is an MBBS graduate from M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Bengaluru. He entered active politics through the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in 2005 and later served as general secretary of the Karnataka Youth Congress.
He made his electoral debut in the 2010 by-election from the Kalaburagi South Assembly constituency but lost. Subsequently, shifting his political base to Jewargi, he won his first Assembly polls in 2013 and retained the constituency in 2018 and 2023, becoming a three-time legislator. Earlier, Dr. Singh served as Chairman of the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB), during which he oversaw the implementation of development initiatives such as ‘Akshara Aavishkara’ and ‘Arogya Aavishkara’ programmes.
He has also served as the Chief Whip of Congress in the Legislative Assembly and as Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Despite winning three consecutive Assembly elections, Dr. Singh had missed out on ministerial berths in earlier Cabinet formations. His induction marks his first entry into the Council of Ministers. With his inclusion, Kalaburagi district now has three Ministers in the State Cabinet, including Home Minister Priyank Kharge, Minister for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil and Dr. Singh - the highest representation among districts in the Kalyana Karnataka region.
The Cabinet expansion, however, disappointed several aspirants from the district. Senior Congress leaders, including Aland MLA B.R. Patil and Kalaburagi North MLA Kaneez Fatima, were overlooked for Cabinet berths.
The BriefWire