Four from Karnataka in ministry

Four MPs from Karnataka found a spot in the newly formed NDA government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

Bangalore North MP D V Sadananda Gowda, Rajya Sabha MP Nirmala Sitharaman along with Dharwad Lok Sabha member Pralhad V Joshi, and Belgaum MP Suresh Angadi were sworn in at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

By giving representation to Lingayats and Vokkaligas, the saffron party has tried to strike a balance in seniority, caste and region while selecting the names.

Gowda was inducted as the party wanted to give representation to southern Karnataka as well as the Vokkaliga community, which primarily votes for the JD(S) and Congress. The party re-inducted Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, who is a Brahmin.

Joshi is also a Brahmin while Angadi comes from the core vote base of the BJP, Lingayats.

Joshi, a former President of BJP Karnataka unit, also served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas while Angadi served as Chairman of Committee on House which allocates accommodation to MPs.

In the Modi government’s first term in office, D V Sadananda Gowda (Vokkaliga), G M Siddeshwara (Lingayat), along with Ananth Kumar (Brahmin) had found a place.

Later, when the Cabinet rejig happened, Ramesh Jigajinagi, a Scheduled Caste leader, was inducted after dropping Siddeshwara.

Sadananda Gowda, former Chief Minister of Karnataka, held several important portfolios in the previous government including Railways and Law and Justice and Chemical and Fertilisers.

Uttara Kannada MP Anant Kumar Hegde has also not found a place. A senior-most MP, having won Lok Sabha elections consecutively for six terms, the party decided not to re-induct him as he faced the ire of party leaders as well as the opposition for his controversial statements.

Jigajinagi not re-inducted

Even Jigajinagi, who had held the portfolio of Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation, was not re-inducted as the prime minister was not happy with his performance.