40 seniors aspiring for ministerial post

BENGALURU: Although chief minister Siddaramaiah, on Monday, categorically ruled out a cabinet rejig after Lok Sabha election results are announced on June 4, he is likely to come under immense pressure from partymen, especially now that the govt has completed a year in office.

As it is, Siddaramaiah’s remark that he will follow instructions from the party high in this regard has sparked hopes among those waiting in the wings. When Siddaramaiah formed the govt on May 20 last year, he chose to fill all 34 slots in his council of ministers at one go.

This sparked speculation amon hopefuls that he would replace a batch of ministers with fresh faces after the Lok Sabha elections. Talk of a power-sharing pact between Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar also lent credence to the prospect of a rejig. Some 40 senior Congressmen are aspiring for ministerial berths and they are expected to mount pressure on Siddaramaiah and the party high command once Lok Sabha polls are completed. Party brass had earlier suggested some ministers could be dropped if they performed poorly in their assigned responsibilities for the Lok Sabha polls.

The focus is now on ministers who were initially asked by the high command to contest but refused. The party instead gave tickets to their relatives. The outcome of the polls will serve as a yardstick to measure their efficiency, and they may be asked to step aside for others if the party performs poorly in their respective districts. Aspiring senior MLAs are reportedly planning a meeting soon to discuss the next course of action.

They also plan to meet Siddaramaiah. “It is natural that legislators who have worked hard to strengthen party organisation and contributed to the victory in last year’s assembly polls seek reward. Many of them have approached us with their grievances.

I hope the CM will give them a patient hearing and address their issues,” said Vinay Kulkarni, KPCC working president. Brewing dissent, especially among Dalit legislators, is also a challenge for Congress brass. In this backdrop, Siddaramaiah is expected to meet all Congress legislators in mid-June to assuage hurt feelings. Basavaraj Rayareddi, one of the govt’s sternest critics until he was made economic advisor to the CM, admitted a “facelift to the administration” is necessary.

“This will be addressed both at the level of bureaucracy and ministries. The CM will take up this matter when he meets party MLAs,” he said. In similar circumstances, Siddaramaiah was pretty much forced to meet with MLAs in July last year after BR Patil, a senior MLA, had written to him, complaining about the inaccessibility of some ministers. Rayareddi was a signatory to that letter.