Jagadish Shettar is offered sweets by his family members after being sworn in chief minister. (PTI)

Bangalore, July 12: Jagadish Shettar was today sworn in as Karnataka chief minister, becoming the third head of the state in four years.

With just 11 months to go for the state elections, the BJP ensured that all major castes were represented in the cabinet that for the first time has two deputy chief ministers.

In an indication that the party did not want any more trouble from the polarised state unit, home minister R. Ashok, a Vokkaliga, and state party president K.S. Eshwarappa, a Kuruba, were made deputies to Shettar, who is a Lingayat.

The state last had a deputy chief minister when former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa was deputy to H.D. Kumaraswamy in the JD (S)-BJP coalition from February 2006 to October 2007.

Shettar has retained all 21 ministers who were part of the team headed by his predecessor D.V. Sadananda Gowda, originally part of the Yeddyurappa ministry. Ten more leaders have been added to the cabinet to give weightage to local leaders from all parts of the state.

The 34-member cabinet, including the chief minister and his two deputies, will thus cover all major caste denominations.

Fifty-seven-year-old Shettar, after taking oath as the 21st chief minister of the state, told journalists that he would take everyone along in the run-up to the state elections.

“I’ll make sure that we work together since we belong to the BJP and focus on the state’s development by providing a clean administration,” he said.

The swearing in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan lawns saw a large number of people for and against the change in leadership. While those from the twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad, from where Shettar comes, were in a celebratory mood, party activists from coastal Karnataka, who represent Gowda, raised slogans against Yeddyurappa.

Members who took oath as ministers walked down to greet Yeddyurappa, Gowda and Eshwarappa seated in the front row of the audience. The trio displayed camaraderie by sharing smiles and an odd word while the oath-taking ceremony was on.

The BJP was in for a shock when 11 members from Kundapura Municipal Council resigned en masse protesting the non-inclusion of their MLA Srinivas Shetty in the cabinet. They were already angered by the removal of Gowda, who comes from south Karnataka of which Kundapura is a part. Later at the legislators’ hostel, Shetty broke down and was inconsolable.

Supporters of mining baron Karunakara Reddy — a brother of jailed former minister Janardhana Reddy who expected to return to the cabinet were also disappointed.

Former minister and chairman of the Coastal Development Authority Nagaraj Shetty resigned his post after not being considered for a ministerial berth.

Shettar the other day had lauded Gowda, whom he replaced in a coup staged by Yeddyurappa, for the “clean administration” he provided. Shettar is an entrenched RSS swayamsevak whose father was the first Jan Sangh mayor of Hubli-Dharwad

Seen as a representative of the backward northern districts, the new chief minister said he would give sufficient attention in handling the draught situation in those parts of the state that have received no rainfall so far this year. “Taking care of the farmers who are struggling because of the draught is my priority,” he said.

Sources said the miffed legislators could soon come to together just the way former rivals Shettar and Yeddyurappa closed ranks to target a common enemy Gowda.

Although Gowda was Yeddyurappa’s choice for the chief minister’s post after he had to resign following corruption charges, the duo soon fell out. Since then, Yeddyurappa has been calling for a change in the leadership and has been supporting close associate Shettar for the top post.

Eshwarappa will soon have to relinquish his post as the state BJP president after being made one of the two deputy chief ministers to avoid any controversy in the party that brags about its “one-man-one-post” dictum.

While Gowda has demanded the post as compensation for the loss of the top job, Yeddyurappa has already made known his opposition.