BENGALURU: The Congress has reportedly drawn up a plan to defuse dissidence in the party: Induct
BC Patil and independent legislators R Shankar and H Nagesh into the cabinet either this weekend or by Monday.
The formula, devised following hectic meetings between AICC general secretary KC Venugopal and senior ministers including CLP leader
Siddaramaiah, meant the party would fill all three vacancies in the cabinet although two berths belong to the JD(S) under the coalition’s quota agreement.
“The question of whose quota does not arise now,” a senior minister privy to the deliberations told TOI. “The government has to survive.”
Patil, Shankar and Nagesh were all aspirants for a cabinet berth when the coalition government was formed in May 2018. While Shankar was inducted, he was dropped in December last year when the cabinet was expanded. KPCC president Dinesh Gundurao attributed it to non-performance, but the other reason was Shankar had not fallen in line with the Congress diktat of becoming an associate member.
Sources said the Congress is waiting for chief minister HD Kumaraswamy to return to go ahead with the formula. The CM had said earlier he is willing to give up the JD(S) vacancies.
“The JD(S)-Congress strength is 118 (including two independents) and the BJP is 105 in the assembly. If the BJP has to dislodge the government, it has to reduce the coalition’s strength to 104 for which it needs to poach 14 MLAs,” sources said.