BENGALURU, BELAGAVI: Even as Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, his predecessor Siddaramaiah and KPCC president B K Hariprasad held one-on-one discussions with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Thursday, the date for the expansion of the Karnataka cabinet remained uncertain.
As the meeting was held in the absence of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge—who returned to Bengaluru— and remained inconclusive, one more round of talks is needed to arrive at a conclusion, informed sources told the TNIE.
AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka affairs Randeep Singh Surjewala, however, expressed confidence that the expansion will happen before the monsoon session of the joint legislature that commences in the first week of August. Shivakumar had earlier informed that the session would begin on August 6.
“Today, Shivakumar ji, Siddaramaiah ji, and Hariprasad ji met Rahul ji, and they have also met or are meeting General Secretary Organisation KC Venugopal ji. The discussions have just begun. I cannot give you any date right now. I can only say that these are preliminary discussions. The expansion of the Karnataka cabinet will happen very soon.
There are 20 vacancies in the cabinet, and one speaker post is empty. Let the consultations happen... something can only be said after the discussions. The effort will be to fill the maximum or all the vacancies”, Surjewala told reporters. When asked if the expansion will happen before the session, he said, “Yes, I am completely hopeful that the expansion of the cabinet will be completed before the Assembly session”.
Meanwhile, Hariprasad said that the high command leaders might even call state leaders for another round of talks. He said the discussion has been deferred for the time being and attributed it to Kharge returning to Bengaluru.
According to sources, Kharge returned for personal reasons following an emergency call from his family.
“The Congress president is not in town. He has gone back to Bengaluru. It has been temporarily postponed. Whenever they notify us of the next date, we will come. By temporary, don’t assume it means one week, two weeks, or two years. As soon as he(Kharge) returns (to Delhi), we will discuss it, and the process will be completed”, Hariprasad elaborated.
He informed that Rahul and Venugopal have taken the opinion of the state leaders and will take a final call after another round of discussion.
According to sources, Rahul was upset with the proposal of the state leaders as it included mostly the names of former ministers, considered to be old timers. Keeping in view of returning to power in 2028, Rahul suggested forming a new and young cabinet, sources added.
The expansion is turning out to be a challenge for the Congress high command and also Shivakumar as the real politicking starts after the expansion, as it may trigger some dissidence within the party, observed political analysts.
“Shivakumar had promised some leaders ministerial posts while inducting them into the Congress ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls and is now in a Catch-22 situation,” opined a political analyst.
With the much-awaited cabinet expansion kept on hold for some more days, the aspirants are apparently disappointed. About 40 Congress legislators had camped in the national capital lobbying for the cabinet berths.
The legislators, Ashok M Pattan, TB Jayachandra, Lakshman Savadi, Vijayanand Kashappanavar, G T Patil, Appaji CS Nadagouda, Ajay Singh, Saleem Ahmed, among others, have openly staked their claim, hoping that their loyalty to the party will help them enter the cabinet. Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi has been lobbying for Mahantesh Koujalagi and Ashok Pattan under the Belagavi quota to snub Laxman Savadi and Laxmi Hebbalkar, a source said. While Ballari MP E Tukaram exerted pressure on the high command that his wife Annapoorna be considered under the women’s quota, it added.
According to sources, Shivakumar proposed July 20 or 22 as possible dates for the swearing-in of new ministers.
While the top brass is understood to be in favour of keeping two or three ministerial berths vacant for future political adjustments, Shivakumar has reportedly argued for a full-fledged expansion, keeping in view the political and electoral considerations ahead.