Bengaluru: Hours before the expansion of Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar‘s Cabinet, discontent surfaced within the Karnataka Congress as two party MLAs announced their decision to resign after being denied ministerial berths.
Senior Congress legislator Yashwanthrayagouda Patil, who represents Indi, and Belur Gopalakrishna, the MLA from Sagar, expressed disappointment over their exclusion from the Cabinet, accusing the party leadership of overlooking them despite their contributions.
The resignations came just ahead of the swearing-in ceremony for the new ministers, highlighting growing dissatisfaction among some legislators over the Cabinet formation.
MLAs express disappointment
Yashwanthrayagouda Patil alleged that the Congress had failed to fulfil its assurance of inducting him into the Cabinet.
He maintained that he had been expecting a ministerial berth and expressed disappointment over being left out of the final list.
Belur Gopalakrishna also criticised the party leadership, alleging that greater importance was being given to the children of former Chief Ministers.
“Only children of former Chief Ministers get prominence in the Congress,” he said while expressing his dissatisfaction over the Cabinet expansion.
Cabinet expansion to proceed
Despite the dissent within the party, the expansion of the Karnataka Cabinet was scheduled to proceed on Monday evening.
According to sources, the Congress high command approved the final list of 20 ministers, paving the way for the Chief Minister to expand his ministry to its full sanctioned strength.
The swearing-in ceremony was scheduled to be held at the Glass House, Lok Bhavan, in Bengaluru at 5 pm.
The induction was set to fill all 20 vacant berths in the 34-member Council of Ministers.
Changes in Assembly leadership
The Cabinet reshuffle is also expected to bring changes to key positions in the Karnataka Legislature.
Ron MLA G.S. Patil is set to become the new Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, following the induction of former Speaker U.T. Khader into the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, Virajpet MLA A.S. Ponnanna is expected to assume charge as the Deputy Speaker.
Appointments in Legislative Council
The reshuffle also includes changes in the Legislative Council.
Senior Congress leader Saleem Ahmed is likely to be appointed as the Chairperson of the Legislative Council, while actor-turned-MLC Umashree is expected to become the Deputy Chairperson.
The appointments are part of a broader organisational exercise accompanying the Cabinet expansion.
Political significance
The resignations by two Congress legislators underline the challenge of balancing regional and factional aspirations while constituting a full-strength ministry.
Although the Cabinet expansion is expected to strengthen the Shivakumar government administratively, the dissatisfaction expressed by some legislators indicates that the Congress leadership may have to address internal concerns to maintain unity within the party.