India, June 1 -- Karnataka chief minister-designate D K Shivakumar and senior leader Siddaramaiah arrived in the national capital on Monday to hold consultations with the Congress high command over the composition of the new state cabinet, ahead of the June 3 swearing-in ceremony. Shivakumar, who replaces Siddaramaiah after being formally elected leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Karnataka on Saturday, is scheduled to be sworn in as the chief minister alongside select members of his council at 4:05 PM on Wednesday. Asked about the visit, Shivakumar, who checked into Karnataka Bhawan here, told reporters, "We have to decide" -- a reference to the council of ministers. Siddaramaiah, meanwhile, is staying at a private hotel in the national capital. With Karnataka's council of ministers capped at 34 -- including the chief minister -- and a swelling pool of aspirants vying for limited berths, Shivakumar faces one of his first and most consequential tests as CM-designate. Party sources acknowledged the risk of widespread disgruntlement among those who fail to make the cut. Asked on Sunday about the number of ministers to be sworn in alongside him, Shivakumar said, "I don't know. Whatever the party high command decides will be done. I don't want to comment on that." Aspirants have reached the national capital in numbers, with former ministers and legislators seeking audiences with both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah to press their claims. Party sources indicate the new cabinet is likely to be a blend of familiar faces and fresh entrants, with careful attention paid to caste arithmetic, regional balance and loyalty equations -- particularly towards the Siddaramaiah camp. Speculation is rife that the new government could have multiple deputy chief ministers, and that several ministers from the outgoing Siddaramaiah cabinet may not be retained. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has maintained that no formal proposal on the ministry's composition has been received yet. Siddaramaiah's son and Congress MLC Yathindra, after meeting the CM-designate on Sunday, expressed confidence about a cabinet berth, saying the party high command had assured him of a ministerial position.
The Delhi parleys are also expected to address the question of who succeeds Shivakumar as Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President. Senior MLA and former minister Satish Jarkiholi is said to be the frontrunner -- though he is reportedly seeking a cabinet position along with the organisational post, complicating the arithmetic further. The Congress leadership is additionally expected to finalise candidates for the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections scheduled for June 18. With its current Assembly strength, the ruling party is projected to win three of the four Rajya Sabha seats and five of the seven MLC seats up for grabs.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.