Krishna Byre Gowda, Bengaluru development minister, certified deep-water scuba diver, set to steer IT... - Moneycontrol.com

Published 5 June 2026 · local

Bengaluru’s rising infrastructure challenges-including slow Metro expansion, crumbling roads, poor garbage management, dysfunctional streetlights, flooding during heavy rains and worsening traffic congestion-leave a tough mandate for the city’s new development minister. Krishna Byre Gowda gets Bengaluru Development portfolio Ramalinga Reddy resigns after missing out on the key post Bengaluru faces infra stress as civic polls and reforms loom Did our AI summary help? Bengaluru’s development portfolio-one of the most sought-after in the Karnataka cabinet once again triggered a late-night tussle which delayed the final allocation of portfolios in the newly-formed government under CM DK Shivakumar. The final list was released late on Thursday, a day after the swearing-in ceremony, with senior Congress leader Krishna Byre Gowda, popularly known as KBG, getting the plum portfolio. Byre Gowda has been assigned Greater Bengaluru Development portfolio, which includes Greater Bengaluru Authority, Bengaluru North City Corporation, Bengaluru South City Corporation, Bengaluru East City Corporation, Bengaluru West City Corporation, Bengaluru Central City Corporation, BWSSB, and BMRCL. However, Shivakumar, who is spearheading projects such as Rs 27,000 crore Bengaluru Business Corridor, Rs 1139 crore Hebbal short tunnel (2.2Km), Rs 18,000 crore Bidadi township, and a second airport on Kanakapura Road, has retained control of Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA). Traditionally, Bengaluru Development Minister also oversees BDA and BMRDA. As a result, Byre Gowda's primary responsibility will be development within the Greater Bengaluru Authority's jurisdiction. However, his elevation sparked internal resistance. Upset over not being allotted the Bengaluru Development portfolio, eight-time MLA Ramalinga Reddy resigned from the post assigned to him. He had been given Major and Medium Irrigation portfolio. Also, read: Karnataka portfolio allocation: DK Shivakumar keeps Finance; Priyank Kharge gets Home, Krishna Byre Gowda Bengaluru Development While Reddy is seen as a leader with deep organisational roots in Bengaluru, Byre Gowda’s administrative reputation, backing from former CM Siddaramaiah, and his reformist, tech-savvy image made him a frontrunner for the post.

Shivakumar had earlier outlined an investment plan of about Rs 2.5 lakh crore over the next five years for Bengaluru’s infrastructure push, covering mobility, drainage systems, road networks and urban redevelopment. While Karnataka ranks among India’s highest per capita income states, Bengaluru contributes 36 percent of the state’s GDP. Bengaluru Development portfolio is significant as the Greater Bengaluru Authority civic polls approach, the first major test of the new Cabinet in Karnataka’s capital, where the BJP-JD(S) combine remains in a strong position. Enter KBG: administrative experience meets political heft Krishna Byre Gowda, 53, brings a mix of administrative experience and a reformist image. A five-time MLA, he represents Byatarayanapura in north Bengaluru-one of the city’s fastest-growing regions-and is seen as one of the Congress party’s more policy-driven leaders. Beyond politics, he is a certified deep-water scuba diver. Byre Gowda, who worked as a project associate with a rural development organisation in Washington, returned to India in 2003 after the death of his father, C Byre Gowda, a former minister. With the symbol of his father’s party JD(U)- arrow-caught in a legal dispute, he contested as an Independent from Vemgal in Kolar on the ‘ear of corn’ symbol and won, becoming an MLA at the age of 30. During delimitation, he shifted from Vemgal to Byatarayanapura, from where he has won successive Assembly elections since 2008. Also, read: Meet DK Shivakumar's team of bureaucrats running Karnataka's CMO Byre Gowda is seen as a suave and soft-spoken politician. He was seen walking from Vidhana Soudha to Lok Bhavan after being sworn in as minister on Wednesday, having removed red beacon from his vehicle during his tenure as minister in Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet in 2016, the first such move in the state.