Karnataka Cabinet talks continue in Delhi as Siddaramaiah, D K Shivakumar lobby for their loyalists

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar are holding deliberations with Congress senior leaders in Delhi on Cabinet expansion and allocation of portfolios.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal and Karnataka in-charge General Secretary Randeep Surjewala are holding the meeting at Congress party’s “war room” at 15, Gurdwara Rakabganj Road.

This comes after Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar held discussions with Venugopal at his latter's residence earlier in the day.

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Sources said a final decision on the ministers to be included in Siddaramiah ministry and their portfolios is likely to be taken during the day. Earlier in the day, loyalists of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar also met the two leaders at Karnataka Bhavan and residence of D K Suresh, respectively.

The chief minister and the deputy chief minister had reached Delhi on Wednesday evening and held discussions with Venugopal for over two hours.

Both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah have been trying to push the names of their loyalists for a ministerial post and plum portfolio, resulting in a delay in the allocation of portfolios. The Karnataka Cabinet can have 34 members, including the CM. A

While around 20 names are likely to be named soon, the remaining would be finalised later. Lobbying for seat in the Cabinet has also intensified with legislators aspirants Laxman Savadi, Krishna Byre Gowda, Dinesh Gundu Rao and Laxmi Hebbalkar arriving in the national capital and meeting Kharge, Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were sworn in as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively along with eight legislators as ministers on May 20. Portfolios have not been allocated to the ministers since then.

According to sources, the party high command approved the first list of eight ministers, against the earlier plan of inducting a much higher number of legislators into the Cabinet, as there were differences between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar over some names.

Allocation of portfolios to the new ministers and expanding the Cabinet with the right combinations that will strike a balance in having representatives from all communities, regions, factions, and also from among the old and new generation of legislators, is the daunting task ahead of Siddaramaiah.

During the discussions prior to the swearing-in, sources had said Siddaramaiah's main objection were to the suggestion to include BK Hariprasad, who leads Congress in Legislative Council, and Shanti Nagar MLA NA Haris. Shivakumar objected to the inclusion of Krishna Byre Gowda, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Zameer Ahmed Khan, H C Mahadevappa and M B Patil.

Only Khan and Patil managed to get into the pruned list while the cases of others were kept for another day as the time was running out. Shivakumar was very keen on including Haris but Siddaramaiah put his foot down.