Hectic lobbying on in HDK-led coalition for Cabinet expansion

The HD Kumaraswamy-led Congress-JD(S) collation Government is witnessing hectic lobbying ahead of the Cabinet expansion on Wednesday. Many Congress aspirants for the berths are in Delhi waiting for Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s stamp for the list of candidates. Meanwhile, lobbying has also reached a peak for plum posts.  According to sources in the Congress, Rahul Gandhi has asked senior leaders to work for the party which has sent shock waves and uneasy calm amongst them. It may be recalled that SR Patil, one of the working president of the KPCC, had resigned owning moral responsibility of the party in the north of Karnataka. 

However, the source claimed Patil a senior Lingayat leader from North Karnataka was un happy about the decision of the party not to include senior leaders in the ministry. It is learnt that former chief minister Siddaramaiah, senior leader Mallikharjuna Kharge are lobbying for their sons who have won the battle.  RV Dehspande and many other leaders are in Delhi lobbying for their inclusion in the ministry.

According to sources Congress leadership is also in a fix over including Congress strongman and a vokkaliga leader DK Shivakumar who guarded the MLAs against poaching. The party fears that the IT raids over DK Shivakumar, his brother DK Suresh  a Member of Parliament and their associates  has put them in a fix  over including them in to ministry fearing arrests by the CBI.

The party sources claim that associates of Shivakumar and DK Suresh were recently raided in connection with the money exchange racket during demonetisation time in 2017 might  lead to his arrest. CBI raided 10 places including in Bengaluru, Kanakapura and in Ramangara on May 31. In a press conference Shivakumar and his brother Suresh directly blamed BJP government at the centre for misusing the  CBI, Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax to falsely  implicate them.

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary in charge of party affairs in Karnataka, KC Venugopal, is in New Delhi with a list of names to get clearance from Rahul Gandhi. According a party senior only 14 members will be inducted in the first phase of expansion from its quota of 21 (excluding deputy chief minister G Parameshwara) which   leaves 7 berths vacant from the Congress quota.

The governor Vajubhai vala has fixed the swearing in at 2.12 PM on Wednesday. However all is not well within JDs and after many rounds of negotiations with JDs supremo HD Devegowda the party has decided to induct only eight to nine MLAs in the first phase of expansion. Chief Minister Kumaraswamy confirmed this and   said

"In the first phase of the cabinet expansion eight to nine members will be inducted in to the cabinet. Two to three vacancies will be filled up later. However he ruled out any differences within the party and said   party president HD Devegowda  has been given total freedom on the next phase of cabinet expansion.

"There are no differences at all among our MLAs over cabinet berths and portfolio allocations. Actually they have given total freedom to the national president to select the future cabinet," he told reporters.

"On Tuesday, we had a meeting with our MLAs. Our national president advised all MLAs to cooperate with the cabinet for developing the state and providing good governance," he said.

As per the coalition agreement, Congress was allocated 22 ministerial berths and 12 to JD(S). Congress won 78 seats and JDs won 37 formed the coalition government to keep the BJP away with 104 members in the fractured mandate. As per the agreement with the partners Congress was allocated home, irrigation, health, agriculture and women child welfare ministries, while JD(S) got finance and excise, public works department, education, tourism and transport ministries. Both parties also agreed on setting up of coordination and monitoring committee to oversee smooth functioning of the coalition.