In a post on X, the BJP said, "It is the misfortune of Kannadigas that the state has got a remote-controlled Chief Minister in D K Shivakumar." The BJP shared a cartoon depicting Shivakumar inside a cage being held by top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. It further said, "The high command said, 'We will send the list of portfolios ourselves'; DK Shivakumar returns." The BJP's jibe comes days after Shivakumar expanded his Cabinet on August 3, two months after taking oath as Chief Minister on June 3. However, portfolios are yet to be allotted to the 19 newly ministers, keeping the Cabinet expansion process incomplete.