Bengaluru, 9 August

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was set to arrive in New Delhi on Sunday and is likely to discuss the portfolio allocation for the newly expanded Cabinet. 

The details of his meeting were not available at the time of publishing. 

Ministers Eshwar Khandre and Satish Jarkiholi have said that the portfolios are expected to be announced late on Monday. 

Shivakumar inducted 19 new MLAs into his Cabinet on 3 August, but the portfolios for them are yet to be allocated. Several key berths, including Higher Education, Excise, Agriculture and Labour are yet to be allocated. 

The allocation is a politically sensitive exercise as the Cabinet expansion triggered a wave of discontent among several senior leaders who claimed that had been promised berths but were left out last minutes. Over the past week, Shivakumar, KPCC President BK Hariprasad, AICC General Secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala and a few Ministers have reached out to legislators who were left out of the ministry in an effort to pacify them.

Further, the Monsson Session of the State Legislature is set to begin on 13 August. 

Shivakumar also faces intense scrutiny over the all-male cabinet. There is one berth that has not been allocated, and that is likely to go to a woman MLA.