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Karnataka Cabinet Expansion: 19 New Ministers Sworn In; Gayatri Shantegowda Dropped at the Last Minute

By Editor

Posted on August 4, 2026

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Karnataka Cabinet Expansion: 19 New Ministers Sworn In; Gayatri Shantegowda Dropped at the Last Minute

Bengaluru : The cabinet expansion of the Karnataka state government led by Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was successfully completed on Monday evening. Although the Congress High Command had initially approved a list of 20 leaders, only 19 legislators took oath as ministers in a last-minute turn of events.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 19 new ministers during an official ceremony held at Lok Bhavan at 5 PM.

Dr. Ajay Singh, son of former Chief Minister late Dharam Singh, was the first to take the oath. He was followed by H.C. Balakrishna, K.S. Basavantappa, Basavaraj Rayareddy, N. Cheluvarayaswamy, Laxman Savadi, Madhu Bangarappa, S.S. Mallikarjun, B. Nagendra, P.M. Narendraswamy, C. Puttarangashetty, T. Raghumurthy, Rizwan Arshad, Rudrappa Lamani, Santosh Lad, Shivalinge Gowda, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Vijayanand Kashappanavar, and Zameer Ahmed Khan. Notably, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was absent from the event.

Earlier, AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal had written to CM Shivakumar informing him that the Congress High Command had approved the names of 20 inductees into the cabinet.

However, Gayatri Shantegowda, whose name was included in the final list cleared by the high command, did not take oath on Monday. As a result, the expanded Karnataka Cabinet currently lacks female representation.

Rapid political developments at the last moment and intense competition among female legislators led to this decision. Despite her name being on the list, Gayatri received no official call from the Chief Minister’s office to attend the oath-taking ceremony. Furthermore, discontent brewed within the party as she had not yet been sworn in as an MLC, influencing the leadership’s call to hold back her induction.

During the tussle for the sole female ministerial slot, intense rivalry emerged between Lakshmi Hebbalkar and Umashree alongside Gayatri’s selection. A crucial meeting was subsequently held at former CM Siddaramaiah’s residence, where the high command ultimately yielded to pressure from state leaders to drop Gayatri’s name at the final hour.