BENGALURU: Pressure is likely to mount on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with regard to a reshuffle of the cabinet, with a dozen aspirants staking claim to portfolios, since they feel they deserve it. With Siddaramaiah himself facing a setback amid the ongoing MUDA scam case, and some of his cabinet colleagues too alleged to be involved in scams, the aspirants seem hopeful, sources said.
Siddaramaiah also wants to go for a cabinet rejig after the winter session of the Legislature, slated to be held in Belagavi from December 9, sources said. The strategy is to put a lid on ‘change in guard’ speculation within the party, and also from the Opposition, so as to firmly establish his authority, political analysts said.
With Malavalli MLA PM Narendraswamy and Belagavi Uttar MLA Asif Sait openly expressing their desire to become ministers, Siddaramaiah and the Congress high command seem to be in a fix. Narendraswamy called on AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday, and staked his claim, sources revealed. On Friday, senior leader and the state’s special representative in New Delhi, TB Jayachandra, also met Kharge.
The party high command too was unhappy with certain ministers in the Siddaramaiah cabinet, over their lacklustre performance. Some of them reportedly include Excise Minister RB Thimmapur, who may be dropped or given a different portfolio as part of the reshuffle. Food and Civil Supplies Minister KH Muniyappa may seek the revenue portfolio, when the reshuffle takes place, a source informed The New Indian Express.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna, Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar, Social Welfare Minister Dr HC Mahadevappa, Planning and Statistics Minister D Sudhakar, were among those in the hit list, sources added.
It is to be seen whether Siddaramaiah will reinduct former tribal welfare minister B Nagendra into the cabinet, ahead of the session. Nagendra had resigned after a multi-crore scam surfaced in the Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation. The ED and SIT are probing the case.