JOIN USKolar has no representative in Cabinet
Congress leaders and even citizens in the district are thoroughly disappointed with the selections for the State government Cabinet on Saturday, since no minister in the list is from Kolar.
Hopes were mostly placed on Siddaramaiah opting for former Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar. In addition, leaders of the district unit, Kolar, had suggested the names of MLC Naseer Ahmed and Bangarpet MLA K M Narayanaswamy for a post in the Cabinet.
Five-timer
Other than winning the Srinivaspur seat the fifth time, the greatest strength of Ramesh Kumar has been his former post as Speaker.
Ramesh Kumar had, on May 8 when the results were announced, declared that he would want to work as a legislator only. He is also learnt to have travelled to New Delhi to meet the party High Command. All of this had given the Kolar people and the local Congress leaders a definite notion that he would be one of Siddaramaiah’s ministers. But Saturday gave a different result.
Hopes on MLC
The other major hopeful for a post in the Cabinet has been Member of Legislative Council Naseer Ahmed, who contested from Kolar on insistence from party members but lost to Independent candidate Varthur Prakash. But that he had agreed to contest as the party otherwise lacked a strong candidate from the constituency had raised hopes of Ahmed getting a berth in the ministry.
Although he came third in the contest, Ahmed is said to have saved the Congress from a complete washout in the polls. There is now a desperate need to strengthen the party all over the district, which had added to the demand for a Kolar legislator as a State government minister. The Muslim leaders of the Congress had submitted a request to A K Antony, who heads the Congress high power panel for Karnataka in this regard. Other requests had also been submitted to Union Minister K H Muniyappa to ensure Naseer Ahmed is given a portfolio.
None of the attempts, however, have proven fruitful and Kolar still remains without a representative in the Cabinet.
The Congressmen from Kolar, as virtually a last resort, had even suggested the name of Bangarpet legislator K M Narayanaswamy. But, with senior legislators themselves not having been considered Narayanaswamy had hardly a chance to get a post.
DH News Service