Bengaluru: Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Wednesday administered the oath of office to 29 new ministers in the cabinet of Basavaraj Bommai.
The oath-taking ceremony began at 1415 hrs in the Glass House of Karnataka Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru with the national anthem.
Earlier, Bommai mentioned the non-inclusion of BY Vijayendra’s name in the list of probable ministers.
Vijayendra, who is Yediyurappa’s son, is facing charges of corruption and administrative
Bommai also indicated that the cabinet will have both experienced and fresh faces, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. “We need both experience and fresh,” he said.
Bommai also said 2023 assembly elections and regional facts were other factors that influenced the finalisation of the new cabinet.
The first two ministers to take the oath were former Deputy Chief Minister Govind M Karjol and former Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa. Karjol represents Mudhol constituency in Bagalkot district, while Eshwarappa is the MLA of the Shivamogga assembly
Former Revenue Minister R Ashok was the third on the list to repeat the Oath of Office. He is an MLA representing Padmanabhanagar constituency, Ashok is a prominent face of the Vokkaliga community in the state.
SC leader B Sreeramulu took the oath next. He represents Molakalmuru assembly constituency in Chitradurga district. He had initially held the Health portfolio in the previous Yediyurappa-led cabinet but was then reallocated with the charge of Social Welfare Department, after an alleged fallout with K Sudhakar over issues related to Covid. He was elevated as the Endowments Minister in the Yediyurappa-led cabinet.
Next to take the oath was Prabhu Chauhan, who held the charge of the Animal Husbandry Department in the previous cabinet. A three-time MLA from Aurad constituency in Bidar district, he represents the Lambani community.
Chavhan took the oath dressed in the traditional attire of his community.
Before the ceremony, Bommai met his predecessor Yediyurappa in his residence at Bengaluru, a few hours before the new cabinet was scheduled to take the oath.
Bommai was accompanied by 12 other leaders, all reportedly inducted into his new cabinet.
"He (Yediyurappa) welcomed the new cabinet wishing the ministers all the best," Bommai said. He added that the final list has been forwarded to the Raj Bhavan, which will release the approved names before the swearing-in ceremony.
Other ministers who were sworn were - V Somanna (Govindarajanagar, Bengaluru district), Umesh Katti (Hukkeri, Belagavi district), S Angara (Sullia, Dakshina Kannada district), J C Madhuswamy (Chikkanayakanahalli, Tumakuru district), Arag Jnanendra (Theerthahalli, Shivamogga district), C N Ashwathnarayan (Malleshwaram, Bengaluru C C Patil (Nargund, Gadag district), Anand Singh (Hospet, Vijayanagara
Gehlot then administered the Oath of Office to the ministers--Murugesh Nirani (Bilgi, Bagalkot district), Shivaram Hebbar (Yellapur, Uttara Kannada district), S T Somasekhar (Yeshwanthpur, Bengaluru district), B C Patil (Hirekerur, Haveri district).
While Nirani was Mines and Geology Minister in the previous cabinet, Hebbar was in charge of the Labour and Sugar Departments. (UNI)
