CM Yediyurappa appoints district-in-charge ministers; Not unhappy, says Jarkiholi

Three recently inducted ministers were left out of the list of district-in-charge ministers, while five cabinet members have received additional charge of districts.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has retained charge of Bengaluru Urban district. Among the ministers not inducted to the cabinet included Ramesh Jarkiholi, K Gopalaiah and Shrimanth Patil. They are among the 10 defectors from the Congress-JD(S) coalition, who won with a BJP ticket in December 2019 and were sworn in as ministers in February this year. Amidst rumours of disgruntlement regarding the issue, Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi has dismissed the same.

The ministers in charge of additional districts are DyCM and PWD minister Govind Karjol - Bagalkot and additional charge of Kalaburagi, Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar - Belagavi and Dharwad, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai - Haveri and Udupi, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister JC Madhuswamy - Tumakuru and Hassan and Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan - Bidar and additional charge of Yadgir district.

The other in-charge ministers are: DyCM and Higher Education Minister CN Ashwath Narayan - Ramanagara, DyCM and Transport Minister Laxman Savadi - Raichur, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa - Shivamogga, Revenue Minister R Ashok - Bengaluru Rural, Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sriramulu - Chitradurga, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar - Chamarajanagar, Housing Minister V Somanna - Kodagu, Tourism Minister CT Ravi - Chikkamagaluru, Muzarai and Fisheries Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary - Dakshina Kannada, Mines and Geology Minister CC Patil - Gadag, Excise Minister H Nagesh - Kolar, Women and Child Development Minister Shashikala Jolle - Vijayapura, Labour and Sugar Minister Shivaram Hebbar - Uttara Kannada, Cooperation Minister ST Somashekar - Mysuru, Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar - Chikkaballapur, Municipal Administration Minister KC Narayana Gowda - Mandya district, Forest Minister Anand Singh - Ballari, Urban Development Minister Byrati Basavaraju - Davanagere district, and Agriculture Minister BC Patil - Koppal district.

There were reports of disgruntlement soon after the list was released, claiming that Ramesh - who represents Gokak in Belagavi district - was left unhappy. While four MLAs from the district are ministers - Savadi, Jolle, Ramesh and Shrimanth Patil, charge of Belagavi was handed over to Shettar, who has additional charge of Dharwad.

Jarkiholi, in a statement, said that he had requested the CM not to make him in-charge of Belagavi district and continue Shettar as in-charge. "There is no question of disgruntlement. The CM was keen on appointing me as district-in-charge. Since Belagavi is a large district and I handle the Water Resources portfolio, I conveyed my inability to fulfil both responsibilities," he said.