Sources suggest 50% of the cabinet may change after the Bihar elections, with Siddaramaiah expected to retain his position. (Image: File)
Bengaluru: In Congress-ruled Karnataka, a major cabinet reshuffle is on the cards in November. In fact, the buzz is that there could even be a leadership change in the state. Amid this, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to be getting ready to cling on to his chair, even as Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and a group of Dalit ministers, including Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara, are parroting the line that they will go by whatever the party high command decides. Sources say that Siddaramaiah’s strategy is to carry out a major reshuffle to signal that it is he who is in charge, and that there will be no change in the Chief Minister’s post. After all, he is completing 2.5 years of heading the government and may come under some pressure to vacate his chair for his deputy, D.K. Shivakumar.
Siddaramaiah hosted a dinner for all Congress MLAs amid rumours that there would be a major cabinet reshuffle in November. As the government’s half tenure of 2.5 years comes to an end, some shuffling of ministerial portfolios is expected. In fact, Congress sources say that around 50% of the cabinet ranks will be changed. However, the same sources also indicate that these changes will be in accordance with CM Siddaramaiah continuing in power for the rest of the 2.5 years.
Meanwhile, D.K. Shivakumar is claiming that he does not know of any possible cabinet reshuffle. He is maintaining that in the Congress, everyone listens to whatever the CM says. But he has also said that if someone is speculating about a leadership change, that would be decided by the Congress high command.
Commenting on CM Siddaramaiah hosting a dinner for Congress MLAs and ministers, Karnataka Home Minister and one of the senior-most Dalit leaders in the state, G. Parameshwara, downplayed the development and maintained that their only agenda was having dinner and meeting colleagues. Parameshwara stated that “Hasn’t the CM invited us for dinner before? He has, many times. It had been a long time, so he invited us again. There is nothing special in it. He is hosting a dinner, and we will attend. There is no agenda for the dinner meeting. The only agenda is to have food.”
“If there is a serious discussion, that is different. But this is a casual meeting. The CM simply said, ‘It’s been long, let’s have dinner together,’ so we are attending it,” Parameshwara added.
On the cabinet reshuffle, the Home Minister said, “You should ask the Chief Minister himself. It is up to him to decide whom to include in the cabinet. There has been no evaluation of ministers so far and such discussions keep happening from time to time.”
When asked about the possible changes in November, coinciding with Siddaramaiah completing half of his term, Parameshwara remarked, “Who said there will be any changes in November?”
However, sources from the party told The Sunday Guardian that a meeting was held among the senior Dalit ministers in the cabinet—G. Parameshwara, H.C. Mahadevappa, and Satish Jarkiholi. Sources added that they met to discuss a possible change in the Chief Ministerial position and decided that a senior Dalit leader should be portrayed as the CM face. It seems the Dalit ministers’ and MLAs’ camp wants G. Parameshwara to be fielded for the CM’s position.
However, on record Parameshwara is saying that the meeting had no political agenda. “I don’t know how you people see it. This is not the first time that I, Satish Jarkiholi, Mahadevappa, and others have met as friends. It was not a political meeting,” Parameshwara maintained. “There were certain cabinet-related issues, and we discussed them. We have met many times earlier as well, even at Satish Jarkiholi’s or Mahadevappa’s house. I have not made any statements, and I don’t know what Minister Satish Jarkiholi has spoken regarding the Deputy Chief Minister. He has spoken in general terms,” Parameshwara added.
It may be recalled that Minister Satish Jarkiholi had appealed for clearing the confusion within the state Congress. Explaining his stand on election promises, Parameshwara said, “We announced what people need during elections after understanding their expectations. Unemployment was a major concern, and that’s why it was mentioned in the manifesto. It is not possible to do everything in a single day; things will be done step by step. We had announced in our manifesto that we would fill 2.5 lakh vacant posts. Not all at once, but we have already begun the process. After resolving the issue of internal reservation, we have started recruitment. Be it in the police department or other departments, the process is underway.”
“If what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised was true and if he had implemented it, why would we criticize him? If he had fulfilled what he announced during elections, we would have praised him. But he did not. We had announced five guarantees, and we have implemented them,” he went on.
These statements have assumed significance as they come amid rumours of the reshuffle. Sources close to the Chief Minister stated that the reshuffle will take place after the Bihar elections. And that through the dinner meeting, Siddaramaiah is trying to send out the message that there will be no change in leadership. The Chief Minister has already spoken to AICC general secretary and Congress MP K.C. Venugopal on this during the latter’s recent visit to Bengaluru.
According to sources, Siddaramaiah is contemplating dropping 15 ministers and inducting new faces into the cabinet. He has discussed this plan with Venugopal. Earlier, when the high command had asked him to drop eight to ten ministers, Siddaramaiah had disagreed.
