BENGALURU: With Chief Minister D K Shivakumar holding talks with the Congress High Command in New Delhi to resolve the crisis that has erupted following the recent cabinet expansion, lobbying for key portfolios has intensified. Food and Civil Supplies Minister K H Muniyappa and newly inducted minister Shivaraj Tangadagi are already camping in Delhi.
Amid speculation that Muniyappa could be asked to resign from the ministry to make way for his daughter and KGF MLA Rupkala Shashidhar, Muniyappa made it clear that he has no plans to quit. He is reportedly seeking the social welfare portfolio. Tangadagi is also said to be interested in the same department, though he described his Delhi visit to meet Kharge as a courtesy call after his induction into the cabinet.
Kharge loyalist and MLC Manjunath Bhandari, who was also in the race for a ministerial berth, also met the AICC president in Delhi.
Within the party, several possibilities are being discussed as part of efforts to settle the crisis. These include replacing Ron MLA G S Patil with former minister H K Patil to make the latter as Assembly Speaker, making way for M Krishnappa by dropping either N Chaluvarayaswamy or Balakrishna, replacing Basavaraj Rayareddy with Hampanagouda Badarli, paving the way for Rupkala Shashidhar by asking K H Muniyappa to step down and replacing B Nagendra with Annapurna E Tukaram.
There is also speculation about giving representation to women legislators by replacing Rizwan Arshad with Kaneez Fathima. In such an arrangement, Rizwan Arshad could be appointed as the state’s special representative in Delhi, while Rayareddy could be accommodated as economic adviser to the chief minister or as chairman of the KKRDB, party sources said.
The party is also considering chairperson posts in various boards and corporations for several disgruntled legislators, including Yashwant Rayagouda Patil, Appaji C S Nadagouda, Sharath Bachegowda, S R Srinivas, B G Govindappa, Belur Gopalakrishna, G S Patil, B R Patil and Kampli MLA Ganesh, besides former minister N S Boseraju’s son Ravi Boseraju.
Krishnappa’s son and Govindarajnagar MLA Priya Krishna could be considered for a key position in one of the Bengaluru development authorities, while T B Jayachandra may be appointed chairman of the Guarantee Implementation Committee.
Narasimharaja MLA Tanvir Sait and Shantinagar MLA N A Harris are also among those being considered for the post of political secretary to the chief minister, sources said.
Meanwhile, supporters of Narasimharaja Assembly constituency MLA and former minister Tanvir Sait staged a massive protest on Sunday, demanding that he be inducted into the cabinet.
