JOIN USOutgoing Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G Parameshwara has agreed to join the Siddaramaiah Cabinet despite not getting the deputy chief minister’s (DyCM) post.
Emerging from the meeting with Karnataka in-charge general secretary Digvijay Singh, the chief minister said four new faces will be inducted into the council of ministers.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held on Thursday evening at Raj Bhavan.
Arakalgud MLA A Manju (Vokkaliga community), Dharwad MLA Vinay Kulkarni (Lingayat community), Hangal MLA Manohar Tahasildar (Balija community) are the three other new faces to be inducted into the council of ministers.
Parameshwara, who had earlier refused anything but the DyCM post or second term as KPCC president, agreed to join the Cabinet as a minister after Congress president Sonia Gandhi intervened.
Parameshwara, however, demanded the finance portfolio, but Siddaramaiah, who holds finance, agreed to give heavy industries. The chief minister had recently handed over the heavy industries portfolio to R V Deshpande. Since Parameshwara is from the Dalit community, the chief minister tried to bring community and regional balance in the ministry expansion, sources told Deccan Herald.
Siddaramaiah also said that Kagodu Thimmappa will continue as Speaker and T B Jayachandra will remain as law minister. To satisfy large number of ministerial aspirants, the chief minister is likely to appoint one legislator as his political secretary and 8 to 10 legislators as parliamentary secretaries with Cabinet rank.
For these posts, MLAs and MLCs will be picked from those districts which have no representation in the Cabinet.
Karnataka Special Representative in Delhi, Appaji C S Nadagouda (Muddebehal MLA), is the front-runner for the KPCC president’s post.
Parameshwara’s five-year term as KPCC president will end on October 31.