The much-awaited expansion of the Council of Ministers of the nearly six-month-old coalition government, headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy, is on the cards, with an assurance to the legislators that it will be undertaken soon after the conclusion of the Belagavi session of the State legislature, presently under way.
The Congress’s victory in the recently-held Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh is expected to have its impact on the functioning of the Congress in Karnataka, given the fact that the party high command has emerged much stronger and it can no longer be arm-twisted by some party leaders and legislators. The Congress high command is expected to have its way in silencing Mr. Siddaramaiah, with AICC president Rahul Gandhi likely to take a call on the matter.
The announcement on the Cabinet expansion was made by Mr. Siddaramaiah, who heads the coordination committee of the Congress and the JD(S) and his primary role is to ensure a good rapport between the Congress and the JD(S). Ironically, it is Mr. Siddaramaiah who has been wanting an expansion of the ministry, since he believes that he could call the shots in obtaining Cabinet berths to some legislators loyal to him in the Congress. It is common knowledge that the expansion of the Cabinet is expected to be a difficult task for the leadership of the Congress and the JD(S), given the demand for ministerial positions and the resultant pulls and pressures. Consequently, the exercise has to be handled deftly else the government could run into difficulties.
It should be noted that there are some regional Congress leaders here who are under the belief that they are much stronger than the party as has been witnessed by their behaviour in recent months. Added to this, Mr. Siddaramaiah and his followers are not well disposed towards the present coalition arrangement, and a tiny spark should suffice to set off a plethora of problems.
There are eight vacancies in the Council of Ministers and the demand for Cabinet positions is from nearly 40 legislators. The optimum strength of the Cabinet can be 34, including the Chief Minister, and the present strength of the Cabinet is 27. As per the understanding between the two coalition partners, the Congress is eligible for 22 berths (six vacancies at present) and the JD(S) 12 (two vacant berths). While the JD(S) leadership can comfortably deal with the legislators eyeing for the vacant berths in its quota, it is the Congress which needs to deal with a firm hand. Given the fact that the ministry was constituted only about six months ago, it is difficult to drop any Minister from the Cabinet on grounds of non-performance.
It is also imperative for the two coalition partners to finalise an understanding on the appointment of chairmen for the boards and corporations, and this would go a long way in accommodating legislators who cannot be given a Cabinet berth. But then, political appointments to government boards and corporations have largely led to the poor performance of the State-run undertakings since political leaders have generally misused their office to garner resources to fund the next round of elections.
(The writer is Senior Fellow, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy)