Shivakumar ministry

Swearing-in ceremony

The swearing-in of the members of the council of ministers was originally planned to be held on the steps of Vidhana Soudha before a large public gathering, but was relocated to the Glass House of Lok Bhavan for a more modest ceremony, following concerns over peak-hour traffic disruption in Bengaluru.^[1] Governor Thawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to a total of 14 ministers at 4:05 pm on 3 June 2026, including Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar and Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara.^[2]

Shivakumar took his oath in the name of Veera Gangadhara Ajja, the seer of the Ajjayya Mutt in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, whom he regards as his spiritual guide, while holding a copy of the Constitution of India. Parameshwara took oath in the name of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar; M. B. Patil in the name of Basavanna and Siddeshwar Swami; and Yathindra Siddaramaiah in the name of the Constitution. U. T. Khader and Eshwara Khandre took oath in the name of God.^[3]

The ceremony was attended by senior Congress leaders including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Kerala Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, AICC General Secretaries Randeep Singh Surjewala and K. C. Venugopal, Congress parliamentarian Gaurav Gogoi, and Congress leader Rajeev Shukla. Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Vibhu Bakhru was also present, as were film personalities including actors Dhruva Sarja, Shiva Rajkumar, Ramya, and Dhananjaya, and cricketer Anil Kumble.^[4] The event also drew religious leaders, student representatives, farmers' representatives, Dalit community leaders, and Kannada activists.^[5]

Earlier on 3 June, Shivakumar met former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) chief H. D. Deve Gowda and former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader B. S. Yediyurappa.^[6] Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Shivakumar following the ceremony, stating that the Centre would work closely with the state government for the welfare of the people.^[7]

The remaining ministerial positions, out of the state's sanctioned strength of 34, were expected to be filled in a subsequent cabinet expansion after the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for 18 June. Portfolio allocations were formally notified by the Governor on 4 June 2026 under Notification No. GS 57 GOB 2026, issued in exercise of the powers under Clause (3) of Article 166 of the Constitution of India read with Rule 5 of the Karnataka Government (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1977.

Power-sharing arrangement

Following the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, the Indian National Congress formed the government under Siddaramaiah, with D. K. Shivakumar — the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president who had led the party's election campaign — serving as Deputy Chief Minister. An internal power-sharing arrangement within the party envisaged a leadership rotation, under which Shivakumar would be elevated to Chief Minister after the midpoint of the term. Shivakumar was then an eight-time member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, having first been elected from the erstwhile Sathanur constituency in 1989 and representing Kanakapura since 2008. Widely regarded as the Congress party's chief troubleshooter and crisis manager in Karnataka, he was appointed KPCC president in March 2020 by AICC president Sonia Gandhi, succeeding Dinesh Gundu Rao.^[8]

This arrangement was not formally announced but was widely acknowledged in political circles, and eventually triggered months of internal speculation from late 2025 onward as Shivakumar and his supporters pushed for the transition. Siddaramaiah resigned on 28 May 2026 following direction from the Congress high command, with Governor Gehlot accepting the resignation on 29 May.^[9][10] On 30 May, Shivakumar was unanimously elected as the leader of the Karnataka Congress Legislature Party at a meeting held at Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru. Siddaramaiah himself proposed Shivakumar's name, and the election was conducted without opposition. The transition was overseen by AICC General Secretaries Venugopal and Surjewala.^[11] Shivakumar was subsequently sworn in as Chief Minister on 3 June with Parameshwara as his deputy, making him the second Vokkaliga Chief Minister of Karnataka from the Indian National Congress.^[12] The previous Vokkaliga Chief Ministers of Karnataka were H. D. Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (Secular), who held the office in 2006–07 and again in 2018–19, and S. M. Krishna of the Congress, who served from 1999 to 2004.

Political significance

Shivakumar's elevation marked the first time the Congress had placed a Vokkaliga leader at the head of a Karnataka government since S. M. Krishna served as Chief Minister from 1999 to 2004 — a gap of more than two decades within the party. Vokkaligas, a dominant agrarian community concentrated in the Old Mysore region and the districts surrounding Bengaluru, had for much of the intervening period looked to the Janata Dal (Secular) and its patriarch H. D. Deve Gowda as their principal political vehicle. Shivakumar's ascent was therefore widely read as a direct challenge to JD(S)'s traditional hold over Vokkaliga voters, reinforced by the head of the Adichunchanagiri Mutt — the community's most influential religious institution — publicly declaring his support for Shivakumar's elevation in November 2025.^[13]

The transition also represented a shift in the Congress's internal caste axis within the state, from the AHINDA (Alpasankhyataru (minorities), Hindulidavaru (backward classes), and Dalitaru (Dalits)) coalition anchored by the outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of the Kuruba community, to a Vokkaliga-fronted leadership. Retaining the AHINDA vote bank — which had been central to the Congress's 2023 landslide — while simultaneously consolidating Vokkaliga support, was identified by analysts as the central electoral challenge facing the new government ahead of the next Assembly election, expected by May 2028.^[14] The cabinet's construction — spanning eight communities — was widely interpreted as an attempt to address this tension: three Dalit ministers covered both the right-hand and left-hand SC sub-groupings; three Lingayats balanced the other dominant-community flank; and the Deputy Chief Minister post went to a senior Dalit leader, G. Parameshwara.^[15]

A further political challenge awaiting the ministry was the Karnataka Socio-Economic and Educational Survey (commonly referred to as the state's caste census), a comprehensive survey whose final report was submitted to the government in the final weeks of the Siddaramaiah administration. Leaked portions of the report suggested that the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities were numerically smaller than widely perceived, with SC/ST, backward class, and OBC communities collectively constituting a large majority of the state's population.^[16] Formal acceptance and implementation of the survey's findings had the potential to reshape political representation and reservation policy — a particularly complex inheritance for a Chief Minister whose own community's numerical weight the survey had placed under scrutiny.^[17]

Early decisions

Following the swearing-in ceremony on 3 June 2026, Chief Minister Shivakumar visited the Ajjayya Mutt in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru — the seat of Veera Gangadhara Ajja, the seer in whose name he had taken his oath — before proceeding to Vidhana Soudha to formally assume charge.^[18][19] The first cabinet meeting was held on the same evening, at which ministers signalled that the five guarantee schemes and other programmes launched by the preceding Siddaramaiah government would be continued alongside new initiatives to be announced in due course.^[20]

Portfolio allocations were formally notified by the Governor on 4 June 2026 under Notification No. GS 57 GOB 2026 (see Council of Ministers). The decision to retain the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) directly under the Chief Minister, rather than consolidating them with the Greater Bengaluru Development portfolio assigned to Krishna Byre Gowda, drew attention from political observers and real-estate stakeholders as a signal of Shivakumar's intention to retain personal oversight of Bengaluru's land and planning institutions.^[21]

Five Guarantees (continuation)

The ministry inherited the five welfare guarantee schemes — Gruha Jyoti, Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya, Shakti, and Yuva Nidhi — launched by the Second Siddaramaiah ministry between June and August 2023. The 2026–27 budget, presented by Siddaramaiah prior to the leadership transition, had already allocated ₹51,286 crore for the continuation of the five schemes. Shivakumar signalled an intent to review the beneficiary lists to weed out ineligible recipients, while affirming that the schemes themselves would be continued.^[24]

Greater Bengaluru Authority

The ministry assumed responsibility for conducting elections to the five new Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) city corporations — 2026 Greater Bengaluru Authority elections — and urban local bodies across Karnataka, following the restructuring of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, enacted by the previous ministry. Krishna Byre Gowda was allocated the Greater Bengaluru Development portfolio, covering the GBA, all five city corporations, BWSSB, and BMRCL, while Chief Minister Shivakumar retained the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) under his own portfolio.^[25] Yathindra Siddaramaiah was assigned Urban Development for the rest of Karnataka's urban local bodies, excluding BDA, BMRDA, GBA, and the Commissionerate of Town and Country Planning.^[26]

Portfolio row and Ramalinga Reddy resignation

On 5 June 2026, Cabinet Minister Ramalinga Reddy submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Shivakumar, citing dissatisfaction with the portfolio allocated to him. Reddy, who represents the BTM Layout constituency and had previously served as Transport Minister in the Second Siddaramaiah ministry, had sought the Greater Bengaluru Development portfolio and claimed it had been informally promised to him. Instead, he was allotted the Major and Medium Irrigation department in the gazette notification of 4 June. Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Reddy stated that he could not act against his conscience and preferred to continue only as an MLA rather than accept a portfolio he considered inconsistent with the commitment made to him. He clarified that he had not resigned from the Congress party, with which he had been associated for over 53 years.^[31][32]

The resignation marked the new government's first major political challenge, coming within days of taking office and ahead of a scheduled visit to Bengaluru by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The crisis was subsequently resolved following discussions between Reddy and Chief Minister Shivakumar, with Shivakumar stating on 6 June that the matter had been settled.^[33]

D. K. Shivakumar

Shivakumar is among the most extensively litigated political figures in Karnataka. In August 2017, Income Tax authorities raided properties linked to him in New Delhi and Bengaluru, seizing approximately ₹8.59 crore in unaccounted cash from his Safdarjung Enclave apartment. The IT Department filed a chargesheet before a special court in Bengaluru alleging tax evasion and hawala transactions, claiming Shivakumar had set up an extensive network to transport unaccounted cash across Delhi and Bengaluru.^[34] Based on the IT chargesheet, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case in September 2018. Shivakumar was arrested by the ED on 3 September 2019 and spent fifty days in ED and judicial custody at Tihar Jail before the Delhi High Court ordered his release on bail on 23 October 2019.^[35] The ED filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) in 2022. In 2021, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) separately registered a case of disproportionate assets against Shivakumar for the period 2013 to 2018, when he was a Cabinet Minister. The state government had granted consent to the CBI for this probe in 2019, but the Congress government withdrew that consent in November 2023. The Karnataka High Court in August 2024 held that the dispute over the withdrawal of consent was between the State and the Centre, and directed the CBI to approach the Supreme Court of India.^[36] Shivakumar was also summoned by the ED in connection with the National Herald money laundering investigation. All matters were pending as of the formation of the ministry, and Shivakumar has consistently denied the allegations, characterising the cases as politically motivated.

G. Parameshwara

Per his affidavit filed before the Election Commission of India for the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, Parameshwara declared three pending criminal cases, primarily related to unlawful assembly charges arising from political protests.

K. H. Muniyappa

Per his 2023 election affidavit, Muniyappa declared one pending criminal case.

K. J. George

George was implicated in one of Karnataka's most high-profile political-legal controversies. In July 2016, Deputy Superintendent of Police M. K. Ganapathi died by suicide at Vinayaka Lodge, Madikeri, hours after giving a television interview accusing then-Home Minister George and IPS officers A. M. Prasad and Pranab Mohanty of harassment. George was booked under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (abetment of suicide) and resigned as Home Minister. The CID, tasked with the initial investigation, filed a B report (closure report) citing lack of evidence, and George was reinstated with a different portfolio. On a petition by Ganapathi's family, the Supreme Court of India in 2017 ordered a CBI probe, and the CBI registered a fresh FIR against George and the two IPS officers.^[37] The CBI submitted its own B report in 2021, also giving all three a clean chit. A one-man judicial inquiry commission (Justice K. N. Keshavanarayana) similarly exonerated George. In September 2025, the Karnataka Cabinet rejected the commission's residual recommendations for administrative action against certain officials, accepting the CBI's closure as conclusive.^[38] The case was thus closed at the investigative level prior to Shivakumar's ministry taking office, with no conviction recorded against George.

M. B. Patil

Per his 2023 election affidavit, Patil declared five pending criminal cases.

Satish Jarkiholi

Per his 2023 election affidavit, Jarkiholi declared two criminal cases, both under IPC Sections 141, 143, 149, 290 and 336, relating to unlawful assembly, public nuisance, and acts endangering personal safety — charges typically arising from agitational politics.^[39] In November 2022, Jarkiholi made public remarks at a gathering in Belagavi in which he stated that the word "Hindu" was of Persian origin and carried a derogatory connotation, drawing sharp criticism from the BJP and prompting his own party to distance itself from the comments.^[40] A private criminal complaint was subsequently filed, and in early 2024 a special court for elected representatives in Bengaluru ordered the registration of a case against him under IPC Sections 153 and 500, relating to promoting enmity between religious groups and defamation. The Karnataka High Court quashed this case in December 2024, with Justice M. Nagaprasanna allowing Jarkiholi's petition against the proceedings.^[41] The matter was therefore concluded well before the ministry's formation.

Krishna Byre Gowda

Per his 2023 election affidavit, Gowda declared one pending criminal case.

Priyank Kharge

Per his 2023 election affidavit, Kharge declared nine pending criminal cases — the highest count among the Shivakumar ministry's cabinet ministers.^[42] The most significant cluster arose from the KPCC's Mekedatu padayatra in January 2022, in which Congress leaders including Shivakumar (then KPCC president) and Kharge conducted a march without requisite permission, resulting in cases under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020 and the IPC. The Karnataka High Court in September 2023 quashed the padayatra-related charges, holding that the statutory provisions were inapplicable to the conduct alleged.^[43] In December 2025, the Supreme Court issued notice to Kharge on a petition by an unsuccessful candidate in the 2023 Karnataka elections, alleging that pamphlets styled as "Congress Guarantees" circulated during the campaign amounted to corrupt practices under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.^[44]

U. T. Khader

No criminal cases were declared in Khader's most recent election affidavit filed before the Election Commission.

Eshwara Khandre

Per his 2023 election affidavit, Khandre declared seven pending criminal cases.

Yathindra Siddaramaiah

Yathindra Siddaramaiah has not been named as an accused in any criminal case in his own right. However, in the context of the MUDA (Mysuru Urban Development Authority) site allotment case, the ED probe named him as a MUDA board member during the period when alleged irregular allotments were made to his mother, B. M. Parvathi. His father, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, was named as the first accused in an FIR registered by the Lokayukta Police in Mysuru in September 2024, with Parvathi as the second accused.^[45] Yathindra was not named as an accused in that FIR. The ED separately registered a PMLA case and issued summons to Parvathi and Cabinet Minister Byrathi Suresh in connection with the same matter.^[46] The Karnataka High Court quashed these summons in March 2025, holding that there was no predicate offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act given that Parvathi had surrendered the sites in question. The Supreme Court, in a bench led by Chief Justice B. R. Gavai, dismissed the ED's Special Leave Petitions against this order on 21 July 2025, cautioning the agency against being used for political ends and finding no grounds to interfere with the High Court's ruling.^[47] The PMLA proceedings against Parvathi and Byrathi Suresh were thus concluded prior to the formation of this ministry, though the underlying Lokayukta investigation against Siddaramaiah remained separately ongoing.

Byrathi Suresh

No criminal cases were declared in Suresh's most recent election affidavit filed before the Election Commission. He was separately named in ED summons connected to the MUDA case (see Yathindra Siddaramaiah above), which were quashed by the Karnataka High Court in March 2025 and upheld by the Supreme Court in July 2025.

Sharan Prakash Patil

No criminal cases were declared in Patil's most recent election affidavit filed before the Election Commission.

By district

By category

By caste and community

By religion

By mother tongue

By gender

By generation

By age

The cabinet's age range at formation spanned 33 years, from the youngest minister, Yathindra Siddaramaiah (45), to the oldest, K. H. Muniyappa (78). Three ministers — Eshwara Khandre, D. K. Shivakumar, and Satish Jarkiholi — were all 64 at the time of formation. Only two ministers, Priyank Kharge (47) and Yathindra Siddaramaiah (45), were below 50, reflecting a cabinet weighted toward experienced senior politicians.

By legislative experience

The ministry at formation contained two six-time MLAs (K. J. George and G. Parameshwara) alongside Chief Minister Shivakumar, who was an eight-time MLA, and K. H. Muniyappa, a seven-time MP serving his first Assembly term. Yathindra Siddaramaiah, the sole MLC in the cabinet, had 2018-23 prior Assembly term. The collective Assembly experience of the 13 ministers totalled 53 terms.

Caste, category, religion, mother tongue, gender, and generation

Notable absences

As constituted at formation, the ministry drew representatives from only 9 of Karnataka's 31 districts, leaving significant regional gaps. Mysuru district — home to Mysuru, Karnataka's second-largest city, and the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Varuna constituency, a district where the Congress had won multiple seats in the 2023 elections — had no minister, a gap read by most commentators as a consequence of the partial first cabinet rather than a deliberate marginalisation of the outgoing Chief Minister's home base.^[61] Mandya district, the demographic heartland of the Vokkaliga community's rural belt, likewise had no representation despite the Chief Minister's own community identity. Across the state more broadly, the districts of Shivamogga, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Dharwad, Raichur, Koppal, and Yadgir also had no cabinet representation at formation. These absences were widely expected to be addressed through the cabinet expansion planned for after the Rajya Sabha elections on 18 June 2026.