Karnataka Congress has executed a caste balancing act in Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet, eyes firmly set on the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Six berths each have been given to the Lingayats, Vokkaligas and OBCs. The OBC tally includes the chief minister. Two members of the Muslim community have been accommodated, along with one Christian and one Jain. The list has two Brahmins and one woman. Five SCs and one ST are also part of the list.
Caste politics dominate Karnataka, which was evident in the earlier BJP government where Lingayats played a pivotal role in bringing the saffron party to power.
There is also no place for tainted leaders in the Cabinet. Former minister D K Shivakumar and mine lord Anil Lad have been kept out. Siddaramaiah refused to comment on it, but Shivakumar confirmed the news by asking his followers and voters of Kanakapura “not to conduct bandhs, rasta rokos, bus roko or any such violent activities in the wake of the Congress high command’s decision” to keep him out of the state Cabinet “for some time’’.
Meanwhile, Lad, whose company has been named in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining, has threatened to give up his MLA seat as well as his Rajya Sabha berth if he is denied a Cabinet berth. “Based on the developments, I will decide my future course of action,’’ he said. Maintaining that he is “hurt’’ by efforts at being projected as “tainted’’, Lad asked, “What is the definition of tainted?’’
The name of Lad’s younger cousin, Santosh S Lad, however, is there on the list. The name of former minister R Roshan Baig has also been dropped. Siddaramaiah’s ministry is thus a blend of experienced senior legislators and some new faces.
Siddaramaiah has made an attempt to accommodate all the sections of the society in the ministry. While two octogenarians have been given berths, there are likely to be seven ministers of state, all with independent charge. A source said KPCC president G Parameshwara politely declined to join the Cabinet, when Sonia offered him a berth.