The chief minister, who had tested positive for COVID on January 10, today resumed his day-to-day work from office, after recovery.
The new Ministers of State sworn in by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony in the Rashtrapati Bhavan include Virendra Kumar, Anant Kumar Hegde and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, former IAS officers Alphons Kannanthanam and R K Singh, former diplomat Hardeep Puri and ex-Mumbai police chief Satyapal Singh. Two other new faces are Ashwini Kumar Choubey, a member of the Lok Sabha from Bihar, and Shiv Pratap Shukla from Uttar Pradesh.
Among the other names tipped to make it to the Cabinet are Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sarbananda Sonowal, Baijayant Panda.
Irani's deputy in the I&B ministry Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has been given the charge of the key portfolio.
The 13 month-old Karnataka coalition government of JD-S and Congress slumped into crisis following the resignation of their 11 MLAs from the membership of the state assembly on Saturday.
Tuesday's exercise underlines Bharatiya Janata Party's attempts at wooing Dalits and OBCs, whose votes would be crucial to its fortunes in key states like UP and Gujarat.
Bundelkhand is thought to be an area where Mayawati has some influence. Both Amit Shah and Shivraj Chouhan believe every weapon in the arsenal must be used to ensure victory.
Rediff.com lists a few instances when BJP leaders and ministers shot their mouth off.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who inducted 19 new ministers into his Cabinet on Tuesday has carried out major changes in the portfolios of his top ministers.
The focus is not only on governance but also to ensure that the BJP's political considerations are taken care of.
The BJP calculates that simultaneous polls to Parliament and TN assembly could help it, intent as it is on making the state break from its Dravidian past, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Ambareesh said Siddaramaiah should have called him and asked him to give a chance to somebody else.
Though the Cabinet reshuffle on July 5 has a clear stamp of the Prime Minister's Office, the changes have also increased the coherence between the Bharatiya Janata Party, the government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
