The Malnad region, which elected 11 Congress MLAs in the elections, has poor representation in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet. Except for Madhu Bangarappa, elected from Sorab in Shivamogga district, no legislator has been chosen for the Cabinet. Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Kodagu districts did not get representation in the Cabinet.
Of the seven seats in Shivamogga, the Congress won three — Bhadravathi, Sorab, and Sagar. Among the elected were Madhu Bangarappa, a two-time MLA, and B.K. Sangameshwar, a four-time MLA, who were aspirants for ministerial berths. However, the party chose only Madhu Bangarappa, son of former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa.
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In Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu districts, the Congress had won all five and two seats, respectively. Among those elected were two-time MLA T.D. Raje Gowda of Sringeri and H.D. Thammaiah, who defeated BJP national general secretary C.T. Ravi. However, the party did not choose any of them. Similarly, in Kodagu, both seats were won by the Congress after a long time. But, the district did not get representation in the Cabinet.
K.M. Shivalinge Gowda, who won from Arasikere for the fourth time, was an aspirant for a ministerial post. In fact, he had expressed his wish to become a Minister in the presence of Mr. Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar during the election campaign. He was also hopeful that he would become Minister, as he was the only Congress MLA from Hassan district. The final list of Ministers did not include his name, leaving his fans disappointed. Some of his fans expressed disappointment over his being denied entry into the Cabinet on social media platforms.
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