Karnataka cabinet expanded; Byregowda, HK Patil among 24 MLAs sworn in as ministers

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet was expanded on Saturday with new ministers taking the oath of office.
Among those who were sworn in by Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot were N. Rajanna, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, Shivanand Patil, HK Patil, Krishna Byregowda, N Chaluvarayaswamy, K Venkateshtake, Dr HC Mahadevappa, and Eshwar Khandre.
The Congress party on Friday released a list of 24 legislators who were to be sworn in as ministers in the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led government on Saturday. With this, the Cabinet will reach its full strength of 34.
The new ministers took oath in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar.
Meanwhile, the supporters of Karnataka Congress leader Rudrappa Lamani's staged a protest outside the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office demanding a ministerial post for the leader.
Siddaramaiah took oath as the Chief Minister on May 2, along with DK Shivakumar who took oath as his deputy along with eight other ministers.
The Karnataka cabinet was expanded after the Chief Minister and Shivakumar held consultations with the party's central leadership.
Congress bagged 135 seats in the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ousting the ruling BJP, which got 66 seats in the southern state. (ANI)