First Setback For DK Shivakumar As Minister Ramalinga Resigns Days After Oath Over Portfolio Row

Days after D K Shivakumar was sworn in as Karnataka chief minister and unveiled his new cabinet, signs of discontent have begun to surface within the government.

Senior Congress leader and Karnataka minister Ramalinga Reddy on Friday resigned over the allocation of portfolios, sources said.

In his resignation letter, Reddy said, “I am resigning from the ministerial post because I am unable to act against my conscience.”

Reddy is unhappy with being assigned the Major and Medium Irrigation department after missing out on the Bengaluru Development portfolio.

Sources close to the minister claim that he had been assured the Bengaluru Development portfolio as far back as 2023. However, the department, widely regarded as one of the most influential portfolios

in the Karnataka government, has now been allotted to Minister Krishna Byre Gowda.

‘DKS Promised Me Bengaluru Development Portfolio’

Addressing a press conference after submitting his resignation, Ramalinga Reddy said his decision was not driven by a desire for power but by what he described as a breach of assurances made to him regarding the Bengaluru Development portfolio.

The veteran Congress leader recounted his long political journey, saying he entered public life as a student leader in 1973 through the NSUI and had since served as a minister six times.

“I am still in the Congress party; I have not resigned from the party. I have been in the Congress party for the past 53 years. I entered politics as a student leader in 1973. I worked in the NSUI. Then I contested the Assembly elections. Former chief minister Veerappa Moily called me and gave me a ticket. I served as a minister during his tenure. I have worked as a minister six times,” he said.

Stressing that he had never lobbied for ministerial positions or specific departments, Reddy said, “I have never asked anyone to make me a minister. I have never gone to anyone seeking a particular portfolio.”

Reddy claimed that Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had personally assured him that he would be entrusted with the Bengaluru Development portfolio. He further alleged that Shivakumar and his brother had conveyed to him that the department would be allocated to him after two-and-a-half years.

“The Chief Minister had told me that I would get the Bengaluru Development portfolio. DKS and his brother had also told me that I would be given the portfolio after two and a half years,” he said, adding that he had met Shivakumar a day before the swearing-in ceremony.

Also Read: Karnataka Cabinet Portfolios Allocation: Shivakumar Keeps Finance, Yathindra Gets Urban Development

Portfolio Row Triggers Strain In DKS Cabinet

D K Shivakumar retains the Finance portfolio, but reassigned the Bengaluru Development department portfolio, which he held as Deputy Chief Minister, setting off discontent within the Congress ranks.

As per reports, Ramalinga Reddy had strongly lobbied for the portfolio and conveyed his disappointment to Shivakumar after being overlooked for the role.

Also Read: Meet Krishna Byre Gowda, The Minister DK Shivakumar Has Entrusted With Bengaluru’s Development

A senior Congress leader and six-time legislator from Bengaluru’s BTM Layout constituency, Reddy brings decades of administrative experience.

He has previously handled key ministries, including Home, Transport, and Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, in successive state governments.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and leader Rahul Gandhi are present in the state today amid the political upheaval.