Cabinet rejig row: LS poll duties make ministers sweat

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Karnataka ministers who have been appointed as Lok Sabha constituency observers may be removed if Congress loses their seat by a large margin in the general elections next year.

The consideration comes in the backdrop of the row that surrounds the reshuffling of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet.

Last week, Congress MLA from Ramdurg and government Chief Whip Ashok Pattan's had publicly stated that there would be a Cabinet restructuring after twoand-a-half years, adding that he was promised a ministry.

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar had replied that discussions on a Cabinet rejig had taken place. Escalating the controversy, Congress MLA from Chamarajanagar and Siddaramaiah loyalist C Puttarangashetty on Sunday claimed that the CM had promised him he would be included in the Cabinet in June.

Back in September, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) had appointed observers – all of whom are ministers – for the 28 Lok Sabha seats of the state.

The job of the observers would be to visit the segments, gather information, converse with potential candidates and the cadre and submit a report.

For instance, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Priyank Kharge has been appointed as the observer for Bagalkote Lok Sabha seat. Minister for Public Works Satish Jarkiholi would oversee Vijayapura.

Minister for Kannada and Backward Classes Shivaraj Tangadi would observe Belagavi. Dharwad would be overseen by Minister for Child and Women Development Laxmi Hebbalkar.

Minister for Science and Technology NS Boseraju would be the observer for Bengaluru Central. Bengaluru North would be overseen by Home Minister G Parameshwara while Minister for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil would be the observer for Bengaluru South.

Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh would oversee Bengaluru Rural. Shivakumar as the KPCC president and Siddaramaiah as the legislature party leader in Karnataka also bear immense responsibility for the Lok Sabha election likely to be held in May 2024.

Then Karnataka Congress chief Dinesh Gundo Roa had resigned from his post after the general election debacle of 2019 in which the Grand Old Party had won a solitary seat out of 28.

It had been Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh who had won from Bengaluru Rural. Congress ally JD(S) had also bagged one seat.

The BJP on the other hand had romped home with 25 seats while ally Sumalatha Amabareesh had won Mandya.

Cong wary of saboteurs

Congress leaders are of the opinion that those ministers cum observers who fail spectacularly can be removed from the Cabinet.

This decision, however, flies in the face of their own efforts to replace KPCC working presidents fulfilling dual responsibilities as ministers so as to ease their burden.

Moreover, there are saboteurs within the party that might make it tougher for candidates to win their seats.

On the other hand, the BJP-JD(S) combine, still working on seat sharing, is hoping relatively fewer conflicting interests might make their pre-poll alliance fruitful.