Two months after D.K. Shivakumar was sworn in as Chief Minister of Karnataka along with 13 Cabinet Ministers, the Congress government announced the expansion of the Cabinet, with 19 legislators sworn in on Monday (August 3, 2026).

Among those sworn in on Monday (August 3, 2026), eight are first-time Ministers. Six Ministers who served in former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s second Ministry have also made a return to the Cabinet. The posts of Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chairman have gone to members of the Backward Classes, while the Chairman’s post has gone to a Muslim leader and the Speaker’s post to a Reddi Lingayat.

List of newly inducted Cabinet Ministers

P.M. Narendraswamy ), Malavalli

Rizwan Arshad), Shivajinagar

Dr. Ajay Singh , Jewargi

T. Raghumurthy , Challakere

H.C. Balakrishna , Magadi

K.S. Basavanthappa , Mayakonda

K.M. Shivalinge Gowda, Arasikere

Vijayanand Kashappanavar, Bagalkot

Rudrappa Lamani, Haveri

B. Nagendra, Ballari Rural

Santhosh Lad, Kalghatgi

Shivaraj Tangadagi, Kanakagiri

Madhu Bangarappa, Soraba

S.S. Mallikarjun, Davangere North

N. Cheluvaraya Swamy, Nagamangala

B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, Chamarajpet

Basavaraj Rayareddi, Yelburga

Puttarangashetty , Chamarajanagar

Laxman Savadi, Athani

New faces

The expanded Ministry includes 10 new faces. Seven Ministers from former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s team have returned to the Cabinet.

The first-time Ministers are P.M. Narendraswamy, Rizwan Arshad, Ajay Singh, son of former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh, T. Raghumurthy, H.C. Balakrishna, K.S. Basavanthappa, K.M. Shivalinge Gowda and Vijayanand Kashappanavar.

Meanwhile, A.V. Gayatri Shanthegouda, whose name had figured prominently as a possible woman representative in the list of 20 legislators, was not sworn in. Ms. Shanthegouda’s election petition against M.K. Pranaesh led to his disqualification from the Chikkamagaluru Local Authorities constituency, from where he had defeated her in the 2022 Legislative Council election.

Return of former Ministers

B. Nagendra, who resigned from Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet after his name surfaced in the multi-crore Valmiki Development Corporation scam and was subsequently arrested, has returned to the Ministry.

Others making a comeback from Siddaramaiah’s previous Cabinet include Santhosh Lad, Shivaraj Tangadagi, Madhu Bangarappa, N. Cheluvaraya Swamy, S.S. Mallikarjun and B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan.

Three former Ministers who served during Siddaramaiah’s first term between 2013 and 2018, Basavaraj Rayareddi, Rudrappa Lamani and Puttarangashetty, have also been accommodated in the Cabinet. Lingayat leader Laxman Savadi from Belagavi district, who served as Deputy Chief Minister in the BJP government led by B.S. Yediyurappa between 2019 and 2021, has also been inducted.

Prominent members of Siddaramaiah’s earlier Cabinet who have missed out include H.K. Patil, Dinesh Gundu Rao, N.S. Boseraju, H.C. Mahadevappa, K. Venkatesh, Shivanand Patil, M.C. Sudhakar, Rahim Khan, Lakshmi Hebbalkar and R.B. Thimmapur.

New Speaker and deputy Speaker

The Congress has proposed four-time MLA G.S. Patil and first-time legislator A.S. Ponnanna, who served as legal adviser to Siddaramaiah, for the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, respectively.

Senior leader and Chief Whip Saleem Ahmed and former Minister S. Umashree have been nominated for the posts of Chairman and Deputy Chairman, respectively, of the Karnataka Legislative Council. The Speaker’s post fell vacant after U.T. Khader was inducted into the Cabinet, while the Deputy Speaker’s post will fall vacant following Rudrappa Lamani’s induction into the Ministry.