Defeat may hasten Cabinet rejig

The setback for the Congress in the BBMP elections is likely to force Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take up cabinet reshuffle early to give a new vigour to his government.

Opposition parties say that anti-incumbency has besotted the ruling party and the chief minister may now have to bring some new faces to his cabinet by dropping “inefficient” ministers. Siddaramaiah will have to contain dissident activities that party leaders believe is a possibility because some of the original Congress leaders are waiting to strike at him for multiple reasons. Some of the Congress leaders have been complaining to the party high command that the chief minister is ignoring party loyalists, sources said.

The party top brass had given him a free hand to take up the long-pending Cabinet rejig, but Siddaramaiah had been delaying it on one or the other reason, including the elections. The chief minister will have to address the issue as he has to lead the party in the taluk and zilla panchayat elections by the end of the year.

The results show that most of the Congress candidates have lost in Assembly segments represented by ministers in the Siddaramaiah cabinet, which may give a reason to the chief minister to axe some of them.

With rumours that his party colleagues did not work for the Congress victory as many were not happy with the chief minister’s style of functioning, Siddaramaiah will have to take everybody along, for the smooth functioning of his government.

The BBMP elections were a prestige issue for the party, given its declining electoral fortunes. So, the chief minister himself led the Congress’ campaign. Siddaramaiah is expecting to meet the party top brass here soon to explain the reasons for the defeat.