Karnataka Sees Its Highest Representation As 4 New MPs Join PM's Cabinet

This is the highest representation for the state - which sent 25 BJP MPs to Parliament out of its total of 28 seats - since the Modi government came to power in 2014.

Four new faces from Karnataka joined the union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, taking the state's representation in the Union Council of Ministers to six. This is the highest representation for the state - which sent 25 BJP MPs to Parliament out of its total of 28 seats - since the Modi government came to power in 2014. One noteworthy addition was of Shobha Karandlaje who was elected to the Lok Sabha from coastal Karnataka's Udupi-Chikmagaluru seat. Ms Karandlaje, who represents the powerful Vokkaliga community, has been made Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Once a close aide of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Ms Karandlaje held several portfolios in the state government, including food and civil supplies, energy and rural development. She later stepped down following a truce between Mr Yediyurappa and the then powerful - and rebellious - mining baron minister Janardhan Reddy. More recently, the outspoken and sometimes controversial MP has been carving out more of a separate identity. Rajeev Chandrashekar, who represents the state in the Rajya Sabha, has been made Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The wealthy entrepreneur - a former independent MP who joined the BJP in 2018 - is serving his third term in the Upper House. A two-time Lok Sabha member, Bhagwanth Khuba hails from the politically dominant Lingayat community which the BJP considers as its key vote base in north Karnataka. His induction into the cabinet is being seen as a move to fill up Lingayat representation in the cabinet that had fallen vacant following the death of Suresh Angadi, due to COVID-19 in September last year.