Replacing Ramesh Jarkiholi with his brother, Satish, set tongues wagging with speculation that the former would defect to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). R.Shankar, an independent and first-time legislator who supported the Congress during the trust vote, was also dropped from the Cabinet, giving room for speculation that he too would jump ship. The Congress and the JD(S) had sidelined all leaders who had led the separate minority religion movement. There are members each from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Kurubas and one minority and one Lingayat in the eight-member list announced by the Congress. The Congress also named 18 members to head several boards and corporations as well as seven parliamentary secretaries.

Source: Mint December 22, 2018 08:26 UTC