Mysuru ministers are eyeing expansion during a change of guard in the state

Congress leaders and workers celebrating the swearing-in of DK Shivakumar as the new Chief Minister at the party office in Mysuru on Wednesday. | Photo credit: MA Sriram

While DK Shivakumar has fulfilled his long-cherished ambition to become chief minister after a long power tussle, regional heavyweights in the previous dispensation led by Siddaramaiah and most other ministerial hopefuls from the Mysuru region will have to cross their fingers for further expansion.

Apart from Yathindra Siddaramaiah, MLC, Mysuru district – a native of the outgoing chief minister – and the surrounding districts of Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Kodagu were left completely unrepresented in Mr. Shivakumar’s maiden cabinet, making the near exclusion of the Old Mysuru area quite glaring.

Former welfare minister HC Mahadevappa, who served as Mysuru district chief minister, former animal husbandry and sericulture minister K. Venkatesh and six-time MLA Tanveer Sait, all hailing from Mysuru district, were strong contenders for the ministerial berth.

The run-up to Mr Shivakumar’s swearing-in on Wednesday also saw demonstrations by supporters of Mr Mahadevappa and Mr Sait, who took to the streets to demand not only a cabinet berth for their leaders but also the mantle of deputy chief minister.

While most of the senior ministers in Mr. Siddaramaiah’s cabinet managed to return to the new ministry, Mr. Mahadevappa and Mr. Venkatesh were not among them. The hopes of Mr Saito, who was left out in Mr Siddaramaiah’s second term, to return to the ministry were also dashed.

Former minister and MLA Chamarajanagar C. Puttarangashetty and Kollegal MLA AR Krishnamurthy from Chamarajanagar are also hoping for a ministerial role as are MLAs from Kodagu district – AS Ponnanna and Manthar Gowda.

Similarly, Mandya was not represented in the service. N. Cheluvarayaswamy, Nagamangala MLA, who was the Minister for Agriculture and Minister in-charge of Mandya region, also failed to make the ministry in the first round.

Sources from the Congress side did not rule out the possibility of leaders from Mysuru joining the ministry in the next expansion. Mr. Sait, a six-time MLA, is expected to take a cut on the expansion.

Party sources were optimistic that caste and regional representation would be fixed in the next cabinet expansion with room for nearly 19 to 20 more in the ministry.

According to most Congress leaders here, further expansion is expected only after the June 18 Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections.

Boards of Directors and Corporations

A question mark also hangs over the continuation of the chairmen of various boards and corporations.

In February this year, the government issued an order extending the tenure of chairpersons nominated to various boards and corporations until further notice, allowing the incumbents to continue in their roles.

Published – 03 Jun 2026 21:42 IST