Former minister Shivanagouda Naik and Navalgund legislator Shankar Patil Munnena Koppa have been appointed political secretaries to Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar. Both the posts are of Cabinet rank.
Naik represents Devadurga assembly constituency in Raichur district. Till now, there was no representation to Raichur in the Shettar Cabinet. Naik, a loyalist of Yeddyurappa, was given the post to make up for the non-representation, BJP sources said.
He was Libraries and Small Savings Minister in the Yeddyurappa Cabinet, but was not included in the D V Sadananda Gowda and Shettar Cabinets.
Patil is a staunch follower of Shettar. He belongs to Shettar’s home district Dharwad and is also a Lingayat, like Shettar.
Published 18 August 2012, 18:27 IST