Discussions afoot to finalise Karnataka Cabinet ministers

Hectic discussions were held in the national capital to finalise the names of ministers to be sworn in with Chief Minister designate Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister-designate D K Shivakumar, even as preparations for the Saturday ceremony were under way in Bengaluru.

Sources said 25 ministers, excluding Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar, will be sworn in first on Saturday while the rest seven persons will be selected in the second round. Karnataka can have a maximum of 34 Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in its cabinet.

The Karnataka leaders arrived in the afternoon and held a series of discussions but a final decision eluded till late evening, indicating that the leaders were finetuning the list to balance the list considering region, religion and caste. They were closeted in a meeting with Congress General Secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala past midnight, as they were ironing out differences.

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At least four rounds of discussions were held since their arrival, involving Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former president Rahul Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as well as Congress General Secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.

Rahul is learnt to have told both the leaders that they would have to keep region, religion and caste balance in mind while choosing the ministers. He said the central leadership would fully back their choices.

While there was no official word, the frontrunners include former Deputy Chief Minister G Parameswhara, B K Hariprasad, M B Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge, U T Khader, Krishna Byregowda and Ramalinga Reddy. Working Presidents Ishwar Qandre and Salim Ahmed are also in contention.

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If senior Dalit leader K H Muniappa is not chosen for the post, the senior leader is likely to insist that his daughter Roopakala Shashikal may get the invite. Laxmi Hebbalkar, a close confidante of Shivakumar, is another name that is in contention in the women’s quota.

Ajay Singh and Madhu Bangarappa, sons of two former Chief Ministers Dharam Singh and S Bangarappa respectively, could also find space in the team. R V Deshpande may be chosen from the Brahmin community in the Ministry though he is also considered for the post of Speaker, which he told reporters he was not keen on. Laxman Savadi could also may be inducted.

The names of Mallikarjun SS, Rudrappa Lamani, Shivaraj Tangadagi and Hampangouda Badarli are also in contention.

For the post of Speaker, senior leaders HK Patil and TB Jayachandra, who is also on the list of probables for minister, are considered along with Deshpande.

Soon after their arrival, Shivakumar first reached Venugopal’s residence where Surjewala was present. Half an hour into their meeting, Siddaramaiah also joined them. Both the leaders gave separate lists and they were told to reconcile their choices and return to the leadership.

After initial discussions, the two Karnataka leaders along with Venugopal and Surjewala went to 10-Janpath to meet Rahul, where Priyanka was also present.

After their meeting when Rahul told them that they should unite to fight for the party, Venugopal and Surjewala went to Kharge’s residence. After holding a meeting of almost an hour, Venugopal and Surjewala called both the leaders to the former’s residence for a final meeting.

Sources said all MLAs are already in Bengaluru and they would be informed about the choices on Saturday early morning. The list of Ministers will also be shared with Governor Tawarchand Gehlot on Saturday morning.