Bengaluru: A day after the stalemate over the Finance portfolio was resolved in Karnataka, alliance partners Congress and the JD(S) have come to an agreement on the portfolio allocation. The two parties also decided to have a pre-poll alliance for the 2019 polls. As per the agreement reached, the Congress will get 22 portfolios while the JD(S) will get 12. The cabinet expansion could take place next Wednesday. Addressing a press conference, Karnataka in-charge of Congress KC Venugopal of the Congress said everything was “settled”.

Apart from Home, Congress will get Irrigation, Bengaluru City Development, Industry and Sugar Industry, Health, Revenue, Urban Development, Rural Development, Agriculture, Housing, Medical Education, Social Welfare, Forest and Environment, Labour, Food and Civil Supply, Haj and Wakf, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Science and Technology, Youth, Sports, and Kannada Culture, and Ports and Inland Transport.

The JD(S) will get: Information, Finance and Excise, PWD, Power, Co-operation, Tourism, Education, Animal Husbandary and Fisheries, Horticulture, Small Scale Industry, Transport, Minor Irrigation. Venugopal also said the two parties would jointly fight the 2019 assembly polls. He also said that a co-ordination committee will be set up which will include Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister HD Kumarswamy, and JD(S) Secretary Danish Ali beside himself. The committee will be chaired by Siddaramaiah and Ali.

According to reports, Congress President Rahul Gandhi spoke with Deve Gowda over the portfolio allocation. Earlier, representatives of both the parties met Governor Vajubhai Vala and sought a time for the swearing-in of the new ministers.

SOURCE : http://www.bfirst.in/category/state/cong-jds-reach-agreement-on-portfolios-to-fight-2019-polls-together-489380