JOIN USThe stage is set for the two-week-old H D Kumaraswamy-led government to get its Cabinet. The new Congress and JD(S) ministers will be sworn-in at the glass house in Raj Bhavan on Wednesday.
The swearing-in of the new ministers is slated to begin at precisely 2.12 pm, which will be followed by Kumaraswamy’s first Cabinet meeting with his ministerial colleagues.
The much-awaited Cabinet expansion comes after dramatic bouts of bargaining and compromise between the alliance partners. The Congress, the majority stakeholder in the coalition, will have 22 ministers of the total 34 while the JD(S) will have 12.
The Congress-JD(S) coalition government came into existence on May 23 when Kumaraswamy took oath as chief minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G Parameshwara as his deputy.
“The Cabinet expansion will put the government on track in its direction,” the chief minister said.
Administratively, the state had slipped into an almost, but temporary, cessation of vital functions since March 28, when the model code of conduct kicked in.
The expansion of the Cabinet is expected to bring life back to the administrative machinery and the Vidhana Soudha, which has worn a deserted look for the past two
months.
On May 15, the election results showed a fractured mandate with no party getting a simple majority to form government. The Congress swiftly announced joining hands with the JD(S) to form a coalition government.
However, Governor Vajubhai R Vala invited the BJP, the single largest party, to form the government.
State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa served as chief minister for less than three days. On May 19, he resigned without taking a test on the floor of the Legislative Assembly to prove his majority.
On May 25, the Congress-JD(S) coalition proved its majority on the floor of the House.