BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s ministerial team is finally at its full strength of 34.
With the Assembly polls just a few months away, the exercise could prove too late and inadequate to bring any significant gains for the party which is desperate to retain Karnataka in the next Assembly election.
The CM’s decision to elevate Priyank Kharge, Pramod Madhwaraj, Eshwar Khandre and Rudrappa Lamani to cabinet rank is seen as a smart move to instill greater enthusiasm among the younger ministers and inspire them to go that extra mile to log on to the electorate.
As for the induction of new members, the CM’s firm stand to get the slots for his own followers is threatening to trigger dissidence and widen the gulf between the Congress old timers and the neo-entrants. Though H M Revanna’s name was doing the rounds for a berth under the Kuruba quota, his induction has raised questions of regional balance as he has filled the void caused by H Y Meti’s exit from the ministry. Meti was inducted into the ministry to improve representation for northern Karnataka. The fact that Revanna is an MLC has also not gone down well with many aspirants as there is a long list of MLAs, including M T B Nagaraj and Byrathi Basavaraju from the same community aspiring for a berth.
Siddaramaiah’s choice of new ministers has miffed legislators among Dalit and Lingayat communities too. The right wing of the Dalit community, which has identified itself with KPCC president G Parameshwara, is disappointed as the slot that fell vacant following his resignation was expected to go to their own right wing group among the Dalits.
Siddaramaiah has once again succeeded in checkmating Parameshwara by ensuring the berth for R B Timmapur, an MLC from the SC left wing. Parameshwara had batted for induction of Motamma, and P M Narendraswamy too was a strong contender for the post. However, it is the choice of Geetha Mahadeva Prasad, a first-time MLA from Gundlupet, over many veteran leaders from the community that has come as a surprise. The name of Tiptur MLA K Shadakshari was floated as the choice for the berth under Lingayat community till 24 hours before the swearing-in ceremony.
There was a long list of senior leaders like A B Malaka Reddy, Shivananda Patil, Appaji Nadagouda, Ashok Pattan and Shivananda Patil from the Lingayat community who had been lobbying hard for ministerial berths for the last four years. Malaka Reddy had even threatened to quit his Assembly membership when his missed the ministerial bus the previous time in June 2016.
The cabinet expansion, which is the last before the poll battle, could hit party’s plans to consolidate its presence in northern Karnataka.
CM plays it safe with Home for Reddy
Siddaramaiah has chosen to tread cautiously in choosing the new Home Minister in Ramalinga Reddy instead of Forest Minister Ramanath Rai. The latter was the front-runner for the post but the CM changed his plans just a day before the swearing-in ceremony on the advice of the party high command and many senior Congress leaders in the state, said sources in KPCC. The CM was keen to assign the Home ministry to Rai, the senior leader from Bantwal constituency as he saw Rai as the ideal man to control the cycle of violence that has hit the coastal districts and the rise of fringe communal organisations.
The BJP had threatened to launch an agitation against Rai is made the Home Minister. Siddaramaiah has pre-empted the BJP’s plans to use the issue for political gains in the region by opting for the non-controversial Ramalinga Reddy for the post.