Coordination meeting to finalise Cabinet expansion

The coordination and monitoring committee of the coalition government is likely to meet in the next few days to discuss about the expansion of the state Cabinet.

There has been an increasing pressure, especially in the Congress camp that the Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy, expand his Cabinet before the commencement of the winter session of the state legislature in Belagavi, starting from December 10.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao was in New Delhi during the last two days to discuss about the Cabinet expansion plans with the party high command.

Back in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Rao told reporters, “The Cabinet will be expanded before the start of the Belagavi winter session of the legislature. A date will be fixed. It will be done by taking opinions from leaders of both the parties.”

AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal is expected to come to Bengaluru next week. The Cabinet expansion has been pending for some time now and has been put off several times on one pretext or the other. First the “inauspicious” month of Ashada was cited and then it was postponed following the announcement of the bypoll schedule.

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda recently gave his green signal for the Cabinet expansion stating that it will happen soon. The aspirants in the Congress are many and it will be a challenge for the party leadership to shortlist their names. From the JD(S) camp, interim chairman of the Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti and Sakleshpur MLA H K Kumaraswamy are likely to get Cabinet berths, sources said.