Cabinet rejig delayed as Kharge misses key meet

BENGALURU: The united states congress leaders pushed support a conclusion on expanding mysore’s council of ministers until next week after party president Mallikarjun Kharge was unable to attend a key meeting in New Delhi, delaying what leaders expected would be the final round of consultations, leaders in the know said on Thursday.Chief minister D K Shivakumar, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president B K Hariprasad met Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday as part of the party’s consultations on filling vacant ministerial positions. The discussions, however, stopped short of a conclusion.“The meeting decided to hold one more round of discussions next week to decide on the expansion,” Hariprasad told reporters after the meeting. He said Kharge had to leave for Bengaluru and the next round of talks would be scheduled after his availability was confirmed.Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala described Thursday’s discussions as preliminary and indicated that the exercise was nearing completion.“CM DK Shivakumar, former CM Siddaramaiah, PCC President BK Hariprasad, and many ministers and senior Congress leaders came to Delhi today. They met Rahul Gandhi and will be meeting KC Venugopal. This is a preliminary discussion. Very soon, there would be Cabinet expansion in Karnataka,” Surjewala said.Before meeting Gandhi, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah separately held discussions with Congress general secretary K C Venugopal and Surjewala.The postponement comes as lobbying for ministerial positions has intensified within the ruling party. Karnataka’s council of ministers can have 34 members, including the chief minister, but currently has only 14, leaving 20 vacancies.According to leaders in the know, the party is considering filling about 15 positions during the forthcoming expansion while retaining five vacancies until elections to the Greater Bengaluru Authority and local bodies, including gram panchayats, taluk panchayats and zilla panchayats, are completed.The limited number of available posts has triggered competing claims from legislators, many of whom have urged the party leadership to reward long service and organisational commitment rather than rely primarily on caste calculations.Congress MLA Ashok Pattan said he had appealed to the leadership to weigh loyalty and years of work within the party while selecting ministers. “We have requested our leaders not to depend upon caste. You must look at the sacrifices, how many years they have been working, as well as their loyalty to the party. That is what needs to be considered, and we have submitted our proposal along those lines. I am loyal to the party. If they unnecessarily look at caste and sub caste, it will result in injustice for us. Let them consider caste, but they should not focus on sub caste or people who just vote based on caste,” Pattan said.Senior Congress MLA T B Jayachandra said the party leadership would take the final call but argued that the long pending exercise could no longer be delayed. “The party at the highest level will take the decision. It has already been delayed. There is no scope that there will not be an extension; it will be done as early as possible. Honesty, sincerity, and commitment to the party are paramount,” he said.Congress MLA C S Nadagouda also argued that organisational work should carry greater weight than social considerations in the selection process. “As far as my opinion is concerned, I am a senior worker. I have been an MLA six times, contested elections eight times, and worked hard for the party. My opinion is that the party should look at people who can make the organisation strong. The issue of caste and community will have to be looked into later,” Nadagouda said.The consultations follow weeks of public demands from legislators, community organisations, religious leaders and supporters seeking representation in the ministry. Despite a warning issued by the Congress high command on June 24 asking MLAs, seers and community leaders to refrain from lobbying for cabinet posts, delegations have continued meeting senior leaders in Bengaluru and New Delhi.