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After Karnataka gets 24 new ministers, discontent brews among those sidelined
Earlier, Siddaramaiah had indicated that representation of various caste groups and regions will be taken into account during the cabinet expansion.
The Karnataka government led by chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday expanded the state cabinet by inducting 24 more legislators as ministers, but the development evoked protests from supporters of some Congress leaders who missed out on cabinet berths.
Following the expansion on Saturday — which came nearly a week after 10 ministers, including CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar, took oath — the cabinet reached its full strength of 34. Earlier, Siddaramaiah had indicated that representation of various caste groups and regions will be taken into account during the cabinet expansion.
One of the prominent names that did not find a mention in the expanded cabinet was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) turncoat Laxman Savadi, who switched over to the Congress in the run-up to the recently concluded assembly elections.
Supporters of Savadi, a prominent Lingayat leader from Belagavi district, took to social media to express disappointment over him being ignored in the cabinet expansion, claiming that his entry into the Congress played a significant role in the party’s victory in the district.
Read: Day after slain BJYM worker Praveen Nettaru’s wife loses job, Siddaramaiah promises reappointment
“You (Siddaramaiah) maintained that Laxman Savadi joining Congress had brought new strength to the party. Savadi is the reason for Congress winning more seats in the Belagavi district. In spite of it, you have conveniently forgotten him,” one such social media posts claimed.
Prominent Lingayat pontiff Guru Siddarajayogeendra Swami also put his weight behind Savadi, saying his inclusion would benefit the ruling party. “Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar and [former deputy CM] Laxman Savadi are experienced and good-natured politicians; they should have got the cabinet berths. If Savadi is included in the cabinet, it will benefit the party,” the pontiff claimed.
State minister Satish Jarkiholi, who also comes from Savadi’s home district of Belagavi, said as a senior leader, he should have been accommodated. “He is also a senior leader of the (Lingayat) community. I guess he missed out because of the caste-wise distribution of cabinet berth. The party will look into it,” he added.
Of the 24 new ministers, six are from the Lingayat community, which has the maximum representation in the cabinet.
Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, followers of Congress leader Rudrappa Lamani, a prominent Banjara leader and Haveri MLA, staged a protest outside the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office. No leader from the Banjara community, which falls in the Scheduled Caste (SC) umbrella in the southern state, found a place in the cabinet despite Siddaramaiah’s assurance of caste and region-based representation.
BK Hariprasad, senior Congress leader and a member of the legislative council, also expressed his disappointment over not getting a cabinet seat, people familiar with the matter said.
Read: In Karnataka, woman among 24 ministers inducted in Siddaramaiah cabinet
Senior leader M Krishnappa and his legislator son Priya Krishna were also ignored by the party during the cabinet expansion, prompting their supporters to stage a protest in front of the Raj Bhavan, where the new ministers took oath on Saturday. Krishnappa represents Vijayanagar while Priya Krishna represents the Govindarajanagar seat in Bengaluru.
C Puttarangasetty, the senior Congress leader from Chamarajanagar who defeated former BJP minister V Somanna in the May 10 assembly polls, was also overlooked by the party during the cabinet expansion.
Meanwhile, deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday asked the dejected leaders who missed out on a cabinet berth to be “perseverant” like him. “I did not get any opportunity to join the cabinet during the late Dharam Singh-led Congress government and Siddaramaiah-led previous government. But I did not lose my patience. Similarly, those who have been denied cabinet posts should have patience too,” he said.
