BENGALURU: The Congress leadership has postponed a decision on expanding the Karnataka Cabinet until next week after party chief Mallikarjun Kharge was unable to attend a key meeting in New Delhi, delaying what leaders expected to be the final round of consultations, leaders familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president BK Hariprasad met Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday as part of the party’s consultations on filling vacant ministerial posts. But the discussions did not reach a conclusion.
“The meeting decided to hold another round of discussions next week to decide on the expansion,” Hariprasad told reporters after the meeting. He said that Karji has to leave for Bengaluru and the date for the next round of talks will be decided after confirming his availability.
Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala described Thursday’s discussions as preliminary and noted that the exercise is nearing completion.
“CM DK Shivakumar, former CM Siddaramaiah, PCC chief Hariprasad, several ministers and senior Congress leaders came to Delhi today. They met Rahul Gandhi and will meet KC Venugopal. This is a preliminary discussion. Very soon, there will be an expansion of the Cabinet in Karnataka,” Surjewala said.
Before meeting Gandhi, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah separately held discussions with Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and Surjewala.
The postponement comes with intensified pressure on ministerial positions within the ruling party. The Karnataka Cabinet could have 34 members, including the Chief Minister, but it currently has only 14, leaving 20 seats vacant.
According to leaders in the know, the party is mulling to fill around 15 posts during the next expansion while keeping five vacant till the Greater Bengaluru Authority and local body elections, including gram panchayat, taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat, are completed.
The limited number of available positions has sparked competing claims from lawmakers, many of whom have urged the party leadership to reward long service and organizational commitment rather than rely primarily on class calculations.
Congress MLA Ashok Pathan said he appealed to the leadership to balance loyalty and years of working within the party while selecting ministers. “We have asked our leaders not to depend on caste. You should look at the sacrifices, the number of years they have worked, as well as their loyalty to the party. This is what should be taken into consideration, and we have made our proposal along these lines. I am loyal to the party. If they unnecessarily look at caste and sub-caste, it will do us injustice. Let them think about caste, but they should not focus on sub-caste or people who vote only on the basis of caste,” Pathan said.
Senior Congress MLA TB Jayachandra said the party leadership would take the final decision, but said the much-awaited exercise could no longer be postponed. “The decision will be taken by the party at the highest level. It has already been postponed. There is no room for non-extension; it will be done as soon as possible. Honesty, sincerity and commitment to the party is crucial,” he said.
Congress MLA CS Nadagouda also argued that organizational work should have more weight than social considerations in the selection process. “As far as my opinion is concerned, I am a senior functionary. I have been an MLA six times, contested elections eight times, and have worked hard for the party. My opinion is that the party should look at people who can make the organization strong. The issue of caste and community should be considered later,” Nadagoda said.
The consultations come after weeks of public demands from lawmakers, community organizations, religious leaders and supporters seeking representation in the department. Despite a warning issued by the Congress high command on June 24, which asked MLAs, seers and community leaders to refrain from lobbying for ministerial posts, delegations continued to meet senior leaders in Bengaluru and New Delhi.
