Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy expanded his five-month-old coalition Ministry on Wednesday, inducting four ministers each from the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Governor T.N. Chaturvedi administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers, with seven of them being made members of the Cabinet. One of the Janata Dal (S) nominees is a Minister of State.

It was for the first time that the swearing-in ceremony was held at the Banquet Hall of the Vidhana Soudha. Ministers are usually sworn in on the grand flight of steps leading into the Vidhana Soudha or on the lawns of the Raj Bhavan.

The Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and other Ministers were present at the function. Lack of time because of the ongoing legislature session, the threat of rain and security considerations prompted the authorities to hold the ceremony indoors. Despite the short notice, a large gathering attended the swearing in, and supporters of some of the ministers burst firecrackers outside on the grounds of the State Secretariat.

The Ministers sworn in on Wednesday included the former Deputy Chief Minister M.P. Prakash, who is the president of the Janata Dal (S) State unit.

Mr. Prakash who stood by the former Prime Minister and national president of the Janata Dal (S), H.D. Deve Gowda, said he was happy to be a part of the Kumaraswamy Ministry. Apart from him, the other Janata Dal (S) ministers sworn in are H.D. Revanna, who represents Holenarsipur in the Legislative Assembly and is the Chief Minister's older brother, H.K. Kumaraswamy (Belur) and Zameer Ahmed (Chamarajapet), who is the lone Minister of State. The new BJP ministers are S.A. Ravindranath (Mayakonda), Shivananda Naik (Bhatkal), Revu Naik (Kamalapur) and Shashikant Naik (Hukkeri).

Six of them have become ministers for the first time, and two — Zameer Ahmed and Shashikant Naik— are first time legislators too.

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