Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, and Kharge have put forth their lists, insisting that at least five MLAs of their choice must be made ministers.
The much-delayed Karnataka cabinet expansion is all set to take place on Monday but the process has turned out to be a whole new ball game with the Congress high command leaving many of the state leaders guessing who will make into DK Shivakumar’s new team. On Thursday, AICC General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, after the meeting at the party president Mallikarjun Kharge, a meeting which was also attended by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, state in charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, Shivakumar, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and state unit chief BK Hariprasad, kept the cards close to his heart, only intensifying the suspense. Venugopal, after the meeting, said, the list of those who have made it to the ministry would be known only at the time of swearing-in, likely on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, party sources said that the new Karnataka cabinet under Shivakumar will have a balance of region, caste and many new faces. According to party insiders, Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and Kharge have put forth their lists, insisting that at least five MLAs of their choice must be made ministers. However, there is fear of dissidence if the aspirations of many of the senior leaders are not met, a party insider said. The source said that Siddaramaiah, who paved the way for smooth power transition in the state, was frustrated with the way he was made to wait for three to four days in Delhi and not given time to explain his choices. Even the BJP has mocked Shivakumar for waiting in Delhi to meet the party high command for the cabinet expansion during his third trip to Delhi on the same issue. Meanwhile, party sources familiar with the development said that this time the Shivakumar new cabinet can have two deputy chief ministers. He said that MB Patil and Satish Jarakiholi are under consideration for the post of second deputy chief minister.Â
The source said that from the previous Siddaramaiah cabinet, four to five ministers may be repeated with Santosh Lad, S Mallikarjun, B Zameer and Chaluvalraya Swamy, Laxmi Hebbalkar may be repeated. Highlighting the caste arithmetic in the state, the source said that party will try to balance leaders by giving representation to some prominent caste in the state. From the Kuruba community, the source said that Raghavendra Hitnal and Basavaraj Shivannanavar can be accommodated, similarly besides Lad from the Maratha community the party can also include Srinivas Mane. To give representation to women in the cabinet, the party besides Hebbalkar is also mulling the idea to consider the names of Kaniza Fatima, Purnima Tukaram and Aarthi Krishnan. The source said that there can be two women ministers. Similarly from the minority community, besides Zameer, the party is also looking to consider the names of Rizwan and Tanveer Seth, while from the Vokalliga community, the party is considering the names of Shivalinge Gowda, Sarath Bachegowda and from Valmiki community party is looking to induct Raghumurthy and Purnima Tukaram as minister in the new cabinet of Shivakumar.
The source said that from Lingayat community the party, besides S Mallikarjun, may induct Yashwantrai Gowda or Lakshmana Savadi or Ashok Pattan or GS Patil as minister. Similarly, the party also needs to fill the speaker post and BR Patil is among the top contenders for the post, the source said. Besides BR Patil, Basavaraj Rayaraddi’s name is also among consideration and he is said to be Surjewala’s choice. The source also said that from the SC community, the party is likely to induct Vasanth Kumar, Narendraswami and Manekal Shivanna in the cabinet. And from Bhovi community, it may take Shivraj Thandagi or Ponnanna as ministers. Besides them, the source said that the names of other leaders under consideration include N Boseraju, Ajay Singh, B Nagendra, YG Patil, Shivraj Tangadi,.Rai Reddy, Laxman Savadi, Anekal Shivanna, H Gaviyappa, M Bangrappa. The source said that during the Thursday evening meeting, Rahul Gandhi held talks with Shivakumar, Siddaramiah and Hariprasad and received their proposals. However, he did not commit himself, the source said.Â
The source further said that Rahul Gandhi also held talks separately with Kharge and general secretaries Venugopal and Surjewala to finalise the list. The source maintained that all the senior leaders in Karnataka want five to six ministerial berths for their close leaders and a consensus has emerged over the remaining vacancies and also the Assembly Speaker’s post. Another party insider said that Shivakumar, Venugopal and Surjewala bad also promised ministerial berths to senior MLAs, who had contributed for the party’s victory in the 2023 Assembly polls and that too needs to be fulfilled. Even as the new ministers will get over one year to perform, the source said that the party is also considering to give posts to those who stood with the party during its tough times as Rahul Gandhi has focused mission 2028 and 2029 Lok Sabha polls.
