The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Jarkiholi, Naik, Asnotikar join Yeddyurappa Ministry

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Jarkiholi, Naik, Asnotikar join Yeddyurappa Ministry

Special Correspondent

Portfolios of the new Ministers to be announced in a day or two

— Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

New entrants: The new Ministers (from right) Shivanagouda Naik, Anand Asnotikar and Balachandra Jarkiholi with Governor Rameshwar Thakur and Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa after the swearing-in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan on Thursday.

BANGALORE: The three defectors from the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after quitting their Assembly membership, were inducted into the Ministry by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa here on Thursday.

Balachandra L. Jarkiholi, K. Shivannagouda Naik (who quit the Janata Dal-S) and Anand Asnotikar (who quit the Congress) took oath as Cabinet Ministers at a swearing-in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan. Governor Rameshwar Thakur administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Ministers.

Of the three new Ministers, only Mr. Jarkiholi has been a Minister earlier. The other two are first-time MLAs.

With this expansion, all the three ministerial vacancies have been filled, and the Yeddyurappa Ministry has touched the maximum strength of 34 members.

The Chief Minister took oath with 29 Ministers on May 30.

The Ministry was expanded for the first time on June 7 by including Katta Subramanya Naidu.

The second expansion was effected on Thursday with the inclusion of three new leaders. The highlight of the swearing-in ceremony was the absence of the Opposition leaders.

The Chief Minister noted that portfolios would be allocated to the new Ministers in a day or two.

He said his Government’s strength had increased with the three leaders joining. The Government would complete its full term without any problems, he added.

The new Ministers are not members of either of the houses of the legislature. They have to become legislators within six months of becoming Ministers.

Profiles

Forty-one-year-old Balachandra Laxmanrao Jarkiholi has made it to the State Cabinet for the second time.

He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly from Arabhavi constituency in Belgaum district in 2004 on the Janata Dal (Secular) ticket and was Minister for Social Welfare in the H.D. Kumaraswamy Government. He was re-elected to the Assembly from Arabhavi as the party candidate in the recent polls.

Mr. Jarkiholi belongs to the Valmiki (Naik) community. He is a bachelor and he has completed PUC. He is a businessman and also president of the Gokak-based the Ghataprabha Cooperative Sugar Factory.

He hails from the political dominant Jarkiholi family of Gokak, which wields considerable influence in Belgaum district.

Two of his younger brothers, Satish and Ramesh, are Congress MLAs from Belgaum district.

K. Shivanagouda Naik

Thirty-one-year-old Shivanagouda Naik, who was elected to the 13th Assembly from Deodurga constituency in Raichur district on the Janata Dal (S) ticket, also belongs to the Valmiki community. Though a political novice, he became a giant-killer by defeating his grandfather and Raichur MP A. Venkatesh Naik in the Assembly elections.

Mr. Naik, a native of Arakere village in the backward Deodurga taluk, is an agriculturist. He is a college dropout.

He was a close follower of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and served as president of the Deodurga Taluk Panchayat. Incidentally, several MLAs from Deodurga, B.T. Lalitha Naik, B. Shivanna, Alkod Hanumanthappa and A. Pushpavathi, have served as Ministers in the past.

Anand V. Asnotikar

At 28, Anand V. Asnotikar, a businessman, is the youngest Minister in the B.S. Yeddyurappa Government.

He made it to the Assembly for the first time by winning the recent elections from Karwar in Uttara Kannada district as a Congress candidate.

Mr. Anand is the son of former Karwar MLA Vasanth Asnotikar, who was shot dead in 2000.

His mother Shubalatha is a Congress MLC.

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