Priyank Kharge is now Karnataka IT/BT minister

Priyank Kharge. Credit: PTI Photo

Congress lawmaker Priyank Kharge will reprise his role as Karnataka’s IT/BT minister thanks to a minor reallocation of portfolios that was given effect to on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has divested himself of the IT/BT portfolio.

Now, Priyank is the minister for Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) and IT/BT.

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In another change, Siddaramaiah has given the infrastructure development portfolio to Industries Minister MB Patil.

Initially, Patil was given the IT/BT portfolio along with Industries. In a subsequent revision, IT/BT went to Priyank. Apparently, Patil opposed this saying he is keen to take up IT/BT, forcing Siddaramaiah to keep the portfolio with himself.

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Son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyank made a name for himself as the IT/BT minister in the first Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. Joining the government in 2016 aged 38, Priyank was instrumental in pursuing Apple iPhone contract manufacturer Wistron to set up a plant near Bengaluru. He also popularised hackathons and startup challenges during his earlier tenure.