BENGALURU: After months of delay, Congress has finally decided to make some changes in its quota of cabinet ministers in the coalition government. In a late-evening meeting with AICC chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday, Congress has decided to drop two sitting ministers and induct eight new ministers and fill up its share of 22 berths.
Treading a tightrope, the party is all set for the swearing-in of eight of its new ministers on Saturday at Raj Bhavan. While some heavyweights like Roshan Baig and Ramalinga Reddy have lost out in the race, seniors like M B Patil, Satish Jarkiholi have made the cut. While JD(S) is yet to take a final call, Basavaraj Horatti, B M Farooq and H K Kumaraswamy are the likely probables for cabinet berths.
Coordination committee chief Siddaramaiah seems to have had an upper hand in the choices for ministers with many of his supporters making the cut. At a time when the cabinet expansion or otherwise, will lead to dissent within the party, senior Congress leaders have chosen to please a few and run the risk of inviting the wrath of others. While an official announcement from the party is expected only prior to the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, sources suggested that Ramesh Jarkiholi has been dropped from the cabinet and will be replaced by his brother Satish Jarkiholi. R Shankar will be replaced by C S Shivalli, another Kuruba leader, therefore striking a balance. Another Kuruba leader, M T B Nagaraj, apart from E Tukaram and P T Parameshwar Naik from Ballari, Lingayat strongman M B Patil, MLC R B Timmapur and Rahim Khan from Bidar will be inducted into the cabinet, sources said.
The coalition government will also have 8 parliamentary secretaries. While former Chief Minister Dharam Singh’s son Ajay Singh will be made the state government’s representative in Delhi, V Muniyappa will be Political Secretary to the CM, the sources said.
While the idea of dropping Jayamala from the cabinet and inducting another woman legislator was mooted, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, K C Venugopal, is said to have rejected it.
“Making a first-time MLA a minister will send out a wrong message to newly elected legislators in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where the cabinet is yet to be formed. There are many powerful first-time MLAs in all three states,” a party source said.
Countering the allegations of legislators from North Karnataka that the coalition government has not given equal representation to the region, five of the eight new names hail from North Karnataka districts. While most names were selected smoothly, sources added that a tiff between state leaders and central leadership broke out while choosing between M B Patil and B C Patil.
While senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel is said to have backed M B Patil, state leaders are said to have pitched for B C Patil. Forest minister R Shankar, who won as an independent and pledged support to Congress, has been dropped from the cabinet and is expected to join BJP in protest.
While the induction of new ministers is expected to make a few heavyweights happy, it is also expected to work up a storm from those who disappointed. Legislators like H K Patil, S R Patil, Ramalinga Reddy, Roshan Baig, Anand Singh, B Nagendra and Dr Sudhakar Reddy, who have made their dissent public earlier, are likely to kick up a storm again.
