Even though the new cabinet was formed, there was no peace in the Karnataka Congress. The new chief minister of the state, DK Shivakumar, is also facing difficulties in dealing with the insurgency. This time, a Congress MLA from Karnataka went to Delhi without getting a ministry. Another member of Shivakumar’s cabinet is not satisfied with being a minister. He also reached Delhi for talks with top Congress leadership.
The minister who went to Delhi to express his displeasure was Krishna Beyar Gowda. He has been given charge of Bangalore Development Department. But Krishna demanded that Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Development Authority (BMRDA) should be brought under his purview. According to him, without these two government agencies under his jurisdiction, he would not have any significant role in the development of Bangalore and its surrounding areas.
The Congress MLA who went to Delhi to demand a ministerial post is Rizwan Arshad. According to a source, talks are going on with the top Congress leadership to make him a minister. That is why he went to Delhi. There are many speculations about whether there will be another reshuffle in the Karnataka cabinet.
A few days ago, another minister from Karnataka, Ramalinga Reddy, expressed his displeasure over divisional distribution. Chief Minister Shivakumar gave him the charge of large and medium irrigation department. But Reddy claimed that he was promised a minister in the Bangalore Development Department. He resigned from the cabinet after not getting the preferred category. However, Sivakumar later resolved the issue by talking to Reddy. The Chief Minister said that Ramalinga Reddy is his friend and the issue of his resignation has now been resolved. Two other cabinet members, KH Muniappa and KJ George, also expressed displeasure over the portfolio distribution but later calmed down. But after that problem was solved now rebellion started again.
After Siddaramaiah resigned, DK Sivakumar was sworn in as Chief Minister at the Glass House in Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon. Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot administered the oath to him. Dalit leader G. Parameshwar took oath as Deputy Chief Minister along with Shivakumar. 12 more ministers have taken oath.
Former chief minister Siddaramaiah has already made it clear that he will remain in active politics even if he relinquishes the chief ministership to Shivakumar as per the 2023 pact. He added that his main focus would be on state politics, not national politics. According to Congress sources, in exchange for giving up the chief minister’s post, the high command asked Siddaramaiah to choose between the Karnataka Pradesh Congress president (a post previously held by Sivakumar) or the post of Rajya Sabha MP. But Siddaramaiah made it clear that he would not go to the upper house of Parliament.