Former chief minister Siddaramaiah may play a key role in the Congress as the party, it is said, wants to leverage his “regional leader” status to its advantage.
Siddaramaiah, the 69-year-old leader from the backward Kuruba community, became the first chief minister in four decades to complete a full five-year term. He was poised for a second term if it was not for the party’s debacle in the recently held elections.
According to sources, Siddaramaiah is also likely to be part of a coordination committee that will ensure priorities of both the Congress and the JD(S) match in the coalition government. Siddaramaiah could be expected to guide the government on various fronts. “We will come out with a common (minimum) programme, given that there could be differences in the manifestos of the Congress and the JD(S),” the sources said.
His role in the coordination committee will be apart from him being the leader of the Congress party in the Legislative Assembly.
Speculation has it that Chamarajpet legislator B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, who was earlier with the JD(S), may not get a berth in the Cabinet. Khan had ditched the JD(S) to join the Congress ahead of the Assembly polls, straining his relationship with JD(S) state president and chief minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy. The two appeared to have buried the hatchet. Given his closeness to Siddaramaiah, Khan will continue to be the Congress’ Muslim face.
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