SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister-designate D K Shivakumar and outgoing CM Siddaramaiah will leave for New Delhi on Monday, June 1, to finalise the new cabinet with the Congress high command, party sources said.
According to their travel itineraries, both leaders are scheduled to land in Delhi in the afternoon, with their return journeys left “open-ended” as high-stakes discussions begin.
Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress President, is scheduled to be sworn-in as the CM along with some Council of Ministers at 4:05 PM on June 3, at the Lok Bhavan premises.
He was officially elected the leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Karnataka on Saturday.
Karnataka has a sanctioned strength of 34 ministers, including the chief minister.
With a large number of ministerial aspirants and limited number of berths in hand, Shivakumar has a tight rope to walk, as he risks large-scale disgruntlement by those who will be left out, party sources said.
In response to a query on the number of people to take the oath along with him, Shivakumar told reporters on Sunday: “I don’t know. Whatever the party high command decides will be done. I don’t want to comment on that.”
AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge had maintained that no proposal has been received yet regarding the composition of the new ministry.
Meanwhile, lobbying has intensified by Ministerial aspirants, and many of them have travelled to New Delhi to push their case before the high command.
Several former Ministers and legislators have met both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah.
While some ministers from Siddaramaiah’s dissolved council of ministers are trying to secure their positions in the new cabinet, legislators hoping for a cabinet berth this time have also reached the national capital.
According to sources, there are indications that the new cabinet will have a mix of both old and new members. Efforts will be made to strike a balance by ensuring representation while keeping caste equations, regions, and Siddaramaiah loyalists in mind.
Speculation is rife that there may be multiple Deputy CMs and that a number of ministers from the Siddaramaiah cabinet may not be retained. However, according to party sources deliberations on the cabinet exercise are still ongoing with the party leadership.
Siddarmaiah’s son and Congress MLC Yathindra, after meeting Shivakumar on Sunday, said he was hopeful of a place in the next cabinet and that the party high command had assured him of a ministerial berth.
Talks are also ongoing regarding the new state Congress President, a post currently held by Shivakumar. Senior MLA and former Minister Satish Jarkiholi is said to be the frontrunner for the post. He is reportedly seeking a cabinet berth along with the KPCC chief post.
The leaders are also expected to discuss the candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council polls scheduled for June 18.
The ruling party with its current strength in the Assembly, is expected to win three of the four Rajya Sabha seats and five of the seven MLC seats that will go to polls.
SOURCE : SIASAT
