Karnataka Cabinet Expansion: Shivakumar Submits List of 20 MLAs to Congress High Command

According to party sources, Chief Minister Shivakumar has prepared a tentative list of 20 MLAs to be inducted into the cabinet. The list has been submitted to the Congress high command, which will take a final call after another round of discussions. AICC general secretaries Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala are expected to arrive in Bengaluru by Monday afternoon with the list approved by the high command. Their visit may pave the way for the official announcement of the names of the new ministers and the schedule of the swearing-in ceremony. The swearing-in is likely to take place on Monday evening at the Glass House of Lok Bhavan. The government is yet to announce the official time, but preparations for the ceremony have begun after verbal instructions from the chief minister. The expansion comes just two months after Shivakumar took over as the chief minister. His 14-member cabinet was sworn in on June 3, after which 20 ministers were left vacant. Due to deliberations within the party and the need for Congress high command's approval, the expansion has now been deferred several times, but it is likely to fill up 18 organisational posts and fill up two vacancies, the sources said.