Using what they saw as the last chance to lobby for a Cabinet berth, several Congress legislators flocked to the residence of the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday. Coalition government partners the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) are planning expansion of the State Cabinet in the next few days.
Those who visited Mr. Siddaramaiah on Friday included KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao, legislators K. Sudhakar, Tukaram, S. Ramappa, and H.M. Revanna. Mr. Siddaramaiah, who has been indisposed, had not been meeting anyone for the last two days.
HDK-Rahul meeting
Sources said JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda and Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who went to Delhi on Friday to meet Union Ministers, are also expected to meet Congress central leaders on Saturday to secure a go-ahead for the Cabinet expansion. The Chief Minister, sources said, might ask Congress president Rahul Gandhi for a list of names of Congress legislators to be included in the Cabinet. Mr. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Gandhi on Friday had an informal discussion on the sidelines of the Hindustan Times Summit in the national capital.
Six legislators of the Congress and one from the JD(S) would join the ministry to fill the seven vacancies. The Cabinet expansion exercise has become problematic for the Congress since too many legislators are lobbying for the posts. The issue of giving representation to dominant communities such as Lingayat, Kuruba and Scheduled Tribes and to districts such as Ballari, where the party has six legislators, has proved tricky. With the threat of the BJP trying to cash in on the heartburn of those legislators not included in the Cabinet to lure them to their side still looming, maintaining a balance in this exercise is crucial.
Some leaders are using their clout in Delhi and in Bengaluru to stake their claim to the Cabinet berth.
Sources said legislators who do not make it to the Cabinet would be appointed as chairpersons of State-owned boards and corporations in an effort to placate them and to ensure stability of the government.