Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Cabinet has a total of 33 ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
As many as 24 ministers in the new Karnataka government have criminal cases, while 31 are crorepatis, an analysis by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the Karnataka Election Watch revealed.
The Congress formed the government in Karnataka after it won the 2023 Assembly elections by a thumping majority. The government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah allotted portfolios to its ministers late Sunday night after swearing them in the past week.
The analysis of the self-sworn poll affidavits of 32 of 34 ministers – including the Chief Minister – released Sunday found that 75 per cent had declared criminal cases. “One minister namely KJ George was not analysed due to the unavailability of his clear and complete affidavits on the Election Commission of India (ECI) website at the time of making this report, the details of NS Boseraju were not analysed as he is not currently a member of either any house, state assembly or legislative council,” the poll watchdog noted.
The ADR report also showed that seven ministers (22 per cent) had declared serious criminal cases. Ballari MLA B Nagendra had the highest cases at 42, followed by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar (19) and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (13).
The ministers with zero cases are K Venkatesh (Animal Husbandry and Sericulture), KN Rajanna (cooperation), Shivanand Patil (Textiles, Sugarcane Development and Directorate of Sugar, Agricultural Marketing from Co-operation Department), Dinesh Gundu Rao (Health and Family Welfare), MC Sudhakar (Higher Education), Rahim Khan (Municipal Administration and Haj), Shivaraj Tangadagi (Backward Classes, Kannada and Culture) and Sharanabasappa Darshanapur (Small Scale Industries and Public Enterprises).
Wealth and education
The poll watchdog found that of the 32 ministers analysed, 31 (97 per cent) were crorepatis with assets over Rs 1 crore. The average assets of ministers in the Karnataka government were Rs 119.06 crores.
Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar had the highest assets at Rs worth Rs 1,413.8 crore, while Excise Minister RB Timmapur had the lowest at Rs 58.56 lakh. Twenty-four ministers (75 per cent) had an educational qualification of graduate and above, while two were diploma holders, the analysis found.
“Six ministers (19 per cent) have declared their educational qualification to be between Class 8 pass and Class 12 pass,” ADR said. “Of the 32, only one minister is a woman.”
Eighteen ministers (56 per cent) were aged between 41 and 60, while 14 (44 per cent) ministers declared their age to be between 61 and 80, the report noted.
