BENGALURU: A final decision
on the long-awaited expansion of the Karnataka Cabinet is likely to be taken by
Tuesday night, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and former Chief
Minister Siddaramaiah said, even as ministerial aspirants intensified
last-minute lobbying in Delhi.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah said there was a meeting scheduled for Tuesday night, and all decisions would be taken there. “Everything will probably be finalised tonight,” he added.
However, when asked about the exact date of the Cabinet expansion, Siddaramaiah said the matter falls within the Chief Minister’s domain and advised the media to seek clarification from Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
Siddaramaiah arrived in Mysuru from Delhi on Tuesday morning to participate in the death anniversary observance of his elder son, Rakesh Siddaramaiah, before returning to the national capital later in the day.
Sources indicated that the final call on filling the 20 vacant berths in the D.K. Shivakumar-led Cabinet is expected to be taken during a high-level meeting in Delhi. Chief Minister Shivakumar has remained in the capital for consultations with the party high command.
According to party insiders, the swearing-in ceremony for the new ministers is likely to be held on Thursday.
Urban Development Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah, son of the former Chief Minister, said the Congress high command had summoned key leaders from Karnataka to deliberate on the Cabinet expansion.
“Our high command has called my father Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and other prominent leaders from the State. The matter will be discussed today, and the Cabinet will be expanded,” he told reporters in Belagavi.
Amid heightened political activity, five-time Congress MLA H.C. Balakrishna visited prominent temples, including the Nanjundeshwara Temple at Nanjangud and Chamundi Hills, where he offered special prayers.
Balakrishna claimed that the party leadership was considering a formula of inducting 40 per cent new faces and retaining 60 per cent experienced leaders in the expanded Cabinet. He said he was not seeking a ministerial post merely because of his proximity to Chief Minister Shivakumar, but wanted representation for Ramanagara district.
Former minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmad Khan, another aspirant, maintained in Bengaluru that he had never lobbied in Delhi for a ministerial berth. He said the high command would decide based on its assessment of what benefits the party.
Zameer added that he would accept the party’s decision irrespective of whether he is inducted into the Cabinet. He said he had expected to be included in the first list, but the circulation of a purported audio clip affected his prospects. He has filed a police complaint alleging that the audio was generated using artificial intelligence and that the matter is under investigation.
Meanwhile, the list of probable ministerial candidates has reportedly been trimmed from 43 MLAs to 29 after factoring in caste and community considerations. While the Congress high command is said to be inclined towards introducing new faces, State leaders are believed to have recommended the reinduction of several ministers who served in Siddaramaiah’s previous Cabinet.
Sources said that of the 11 former ministers whom the high command had reportedly considered dropping, eight remain in contention, while three have been excluded from the revised list.
Intense discussions over the Cabinet expansion are currently underway in Delhi, with a key meeting scheduled in the presence of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
If LoP Rahul Gandhi gives his approval to the final list, the names are expected to be forwarded to the Governor’s office, paving the way for the Cabinet expansion later this week.
--IANS
