With the JD(S)-Congress combine certain to form the coalition government, senior leaders of both the parties on Saturday started holding talks on forming the council of ministers to be headed by H D Kumaraswamy.

It is speculated that state Congress chief G Parameshwara is likely to be made deputy chief minister, names of many senior MLAs of the JD(S) and the Congress are making rounds for induction in the ministry. While Kumaraswamy is likely to keep the finance and the intelligence portfolios, Parameshwara is likely to be the home minister.

The Congress, which has 78 MLAs, is seeking a larger share in the ministry. The party is said to have been demanding 20 portfolios. The JD(S), on the other end, is said to be demanding key portfolios such as PWD, water resources, RDPR and Revenue. The meeting to evolve the power-sharing formula was attended by Gulam Nabi Azad, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and G Parameshwara from the Congress and Kumaraswamy and H D Revanna from the JD(S).

R V Deshpande, D K Shivakumar, H K Patil, K R Ramesh Kumar, Ramalinga Reddy, K J George, Shamanur Shivashankarappa, M B Patil, U T Khader and S R Patil are among the strong contenders for ministerial berths in the Congress. The party is also thinking of giving an opportunity to young leaders in the ministry.

From the JD(S) side, H D Revanna, Basavaraj Horatti, Bandeppa Kashampur, G T Deve Gowda, Shivalinge Gowda, H K Kumaraswamy, A H Vishwanath, B M Farooq and C S Puttaraju are likely to make into the ministry. However, the final decision on the ministry formation and portfolio distribution will be taken after consulting JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda and the Congress high command. The leaders also discussed the constitution of co-ordination committee and drawing up a common minimum programme.