In the reshuffle of portfolios after the Cabinet expansion, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has given R. Ashok the prime portfolio of Home, along with Transport, which he holds.
It is the first time after assuming office in May 2008 that the Chief Minister has gone in for some major changes in the portfolios of members in his Council of Ministers. Mr. Yeddyurappa has shed the Energy portfolio, which has gone to Shobha Karandlaje, who is one among the six Ministers inducted on Wednesday.
The others sworn in at a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan are A. Narayanaswamy, S.A. Ramdas, V. Somanna, C.C. Patil and C.H. Vijayashankar.
The strength of the Ministry has now touched the maximum of 34.
Dissident activity, which rose to a high pitch on Tuesday, died down with the swearing-in ceremony.
Reports have it that the Chief Minister and State Bharatiya Janata Party president K.S. Eshwarappa have assured the legislators who could not be accommodated in the Ministry that they would be appointed chairmen of government boards and corporations with the rank of Minister.
Incidentally, the portfolios of the Bellary Ministers have not been changed. V.S. Acharya, who was the Home Minister, has been given Higher Education, Planning and Statistics. S.A. Ravindranath has also been shifted from the Agriculture Ministry to Horticulture. The Agriculture portfolio has been given to Umesh V. Katti.
Ramachandra Gowda has been appointed Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board.
