Senior Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy resigned from the Karnataka cabinet over dissatisfaction with portfolio allocation
June 5, 2026: Senior Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy resigned from the Karnataka cabinet on Friday, just two days after being inducted into the expanded ministry headed by Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. Reddy clarified that although he was stepping down from the cabinet, he would continue as a member of the Congress party and remain a legislator.
Reddy expressed disappointment over not being allotted the Bengaluru Development Department portfolio, which he claimed had earlier been promised to him. The department was instead assigned to Krishna Byre Gowda. “I have been humiliated time and again, cannot take it anymore,” Reddy said, adding that he was not angry but deeply disappointed despite spending 53 years in the Congress.
Responding to the resignation, Shivakumar downplayed the issue and said the matter would be resolved soon. He described Reddy as a close friend and a respected colleague in the cabinet. Reddy, considered one of the Congress party’s most influential leaders in Bengaluru, said he would send his resignation to the Chief Minister’s Office through his personal secretary rather than submitting it personally. The development comes ahead of the anticipated Greater Bengaluru Authority elections, a politically significant contest in the state capital.