Bengaluru: After nine days of the Karnataka government functioning without a cabinet, the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance on Friday announced the distribution of portfolios among them.
As per the allocation, the Congress has got the charge of 22 ministries, including the Home, Irrigation, Health, Agriculture and Women Child Welfare Ministries. While 12 ministries, including Finance and Excise, Public Works Department, Education, Tourism and Transport Ministries have gone to the JD(S).
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The two parties have also agreed upon forming a coalition coordination and monitoring committee that will look over the functioning of the alliance in the state. The committee will be headed by Congress’ former chief minister Siddaramaiah and its convener is slated to be JD(S)’s Danish Ali.
A cabinet expansion is also likely to take place on June 6, according to Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara.
Speaking on the portfolio allocation, Parameshwara, who, as of now, is one of the two minister in the Karnataka government, apart from chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, said it was not a compromise for any of the parties involved, while also claiming that the distribution was based on a “give and take policy”.
“Some we have given and some we have taken. Ultimately, coalition has to go on,” Parameshwara said.
Earlier, Kumaraswamy had stressed that leaders from both the parties had agreed on everything through mutual understanding while saying that both parties would share the portfolios equally.
“Congress president Rahul Gandhi had given some advice and the leaders of the party have agreed to it,” said Kumaraswamy.
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On a related note, Congress won the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar (RR Nagar) assembly constituency in Karnataka by 41,162 votes on Thursday.
The constituency was scheduled to go to polls on May 12, along with the other 222 constituencies of Karnataka, but was postponed due to reports of an alleged fake voter ID scam.
(With ANI inputs)