Karnataka to have a full Cabinet, 24 more ministers set to take oath on Saturday

On Saturday, 24 more ministers are expected to take oath. Eight ministers had taken oath along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar last week.

Sources in Congress told South First that the party has decided to reward seniors who stuck by the party and also make space for new faces in the Cabinet.

“By Friday evening, the only senior who was still being contemplated upon for Cabinet was RV Deshpande. All other seniors and former ministers had been cleared to be part of the Council of ministers. The chief minister has had a large say. AICC tried to strike a balance as much as it could but Siddaramaiah has been successful in propositioning more of his supporters,” a highly placed source in Congress told South First.

“It is his Cabinet after all,” the source added.

What transpired on Friday

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar, who is also the president of the KPCC, and Cabinet ministers MB Patil and Zameer Ahmed Khan left for Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the Cabinet expansion.

“Siddaramaiah met the Congress top brass, including Sonia and Rahul. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 11.30 am on Saturday,” an official in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.

“Once the names of ministers are finalised, a list will be sent to the Raj Bhavan,” he added.

Along with the chief minister, senior leaders DK Shivakumar, MB Patil, Ramalinga Reddy, Dr G Parameshwar, KH Muniyappa, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge, Zameer Ahmed Khan, and KJ George were sworn-in on 20 May.

Also read: Congress likely to expand Cabinet on 26 or 27 May

Siddaramaiah meets the Gandhis

Siddaramaiah held talks with former AICC presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on the Cabinet expansion on Friday, 26 May.

He had left for Delhi after the three-day Assembly session on Wednesday.

Met senior Congress leader Smt Sonia Gandhi and Shri @RahulGandhi at their residence in New Delhi today and discussed about various issues. pic.twitter.com/DSob32QztM

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 26, 2023

“The chief minister held talks with only the Gandhi family. He didn’t meet AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge or AICC general secretaries Randeep Singh Surjewala and KC Venugopal. The final list is likely to be out by Friday evening or night,” the CMO official told South First.

Congress senior leaders HC Mahadevappa, HK Patil, RV Deshpande, Shivaraj Tangadagi, B Nagendra, Eshwar Khandre, Vinay Kulkarni, Basavaraj Rayareddy, Krishna Byre Gowda, and RB Thimmapur are likely to get Cabinet berths.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar held talks with AICC chief Kharge and Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Venugopal. He too met Sonia and Rahul Gandhi later on Friday.

After finalising the names of ministers, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are likely to meet AICC president Kharge at the latter’s residence in Delhi on Friday, sources said.

“Around 15 to 20 MLAs are most likely to take oath as cabinet ministers on Saturday. The remaining four berths are expected to be filled later. The chief minister will release the final list,” Minister Muniyappa told reporters in Bengaluru.

Sources in the party however insisted that Siddaramaiah is keen on a full cabinet of 34 ministers and the swearing-in will see a full cabinet expansion.

“The swearing-in ceremony has been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. The portfolios will be allocated after the ceremony. The high command has to strike a balance between seniors and youngsters in the Cabinet,” Muniyappa said when asked about rumours of the high command preferring youngsters to seniors.

Also read: Bommai says it is ‘reverse-gear government’ in Karnataka

Aspirants in Delhi

Several newly-elected Congress MLAs eyeing Cabinet berths have flown to Delhi along with their leaders.

Belagavi Rural MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar, Santhinagar MLA NA Haris, Gadag MLA HK Patil, Hebbal MLA Byrathi Suresh, Shorapur MLA Raja Venkatappa Nayak, Koppal MLA Basavaraj Hitnal, Sandur MLA E Tukaram, Kampli MLA JN Ganesh, Kanakagiri MLA Shivaraj Tangadagi, Sedam MLA Dr Sharanaprakash Patil, Basavana Bagewadi MLA Shivananda Patil, and several others have been camping in Delhi for the past two days.

“The high command is expected to expand the Cabinet fully on Saturday. Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah presented separate lists to the high command,” a Congress MLC told South First, requesting anonymity.

“The MLAs and MLCs from both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar factions are lobbying to get a berth in the Cabinet. The party is likely to induct more MLAs than the MLCs,” he added.

“The remaining 24 Cabinet berths are likely to be filled up with around six to seven MLAs from the Lingayat community, four to five from Vokkaligas, and two to three from the Muslim community. The remaining berths will be distributed among other major communities, including Scheduled Tribes,” he said.

“Besides caste and community considerations, the high command is also keen on maintaining a regional balance while expanding the Cabinet. All regions are likely to get proper representation,” the MLC added.