Senior Karnataka Congress leader B K Hariprasad on Saturday declined to offer his opinion regarding his exclusion from the state cabinet, stating that inquiries should be directed towards CM Siddaramaiah, the leader of the party, news agency ANI reported. Despite being featured in various news reports on the preliminary list of eight ministers, in addition to the chief minister and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, Hariprasad, a former Rajya Sabha MP, did not secure a spot in the 34-member cabinet.
Questioned about his exclusion from the state cabinet, Hariprasad informed ANI: "You should ask Siddaramaiah, who is the CM. I have worked in the entire nation."
“I may not fit in the seat exams. The test I have failed, very simple," he further stated.
"I based my battle on ideology. My ambition did not involve becoming either a minister or a chief minister. My desire was to overcome and defeat these fascist powers," Hariprasad said.
Apart from Hariprasad's exclusion from Siddaramaiah's cabinet, neither Jagdish Shettar, who lost the election, nor Laxman Savadi, who won, were included in the cabinet. Both leaders had switched their political allegiance from the BJP to the Congress prior to the elections. Senior members of Congress had given signals that they were considering Shettar's induction into the cabinet and his nomination as a legislative council member, up until Friday.
The Congress government in Karnataka expanded its cabinet on Sunday with 24 MLAs sworn-in to the cabinet filling all the posts. Among those who got inducted into the cabinet include sons of two former chief ministers — R Gundu Rao’s son Dinesh Gundu Rao and S Bangarappa’s son Madhu Bangarappa. Laxmi Hebbalkar is the only woman legislator who has been sworn-in to the Karnataka cabinet among the 24 MLAs.