Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, along with newly sworn-in Cabinet colleagues K.H. Muniyappa, Sharan Prakash Patil, and others at the Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
With many Congress legislators aspiring to be in the Cabinet, the first phase of ministry composition has had mixed reactions from the hopefuls. While there was a hope of many new faces being inducted, barring Yathindra Siddaramaiah and U.T. Khader, the remaining 11 were part of the ministry of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.Now all aspirants — both those seeking fresh entry and those who were in the earlier ministry — will await the expansion expected to be taken up after the Rajya Sabha elections.Several other Ministers in Mr. Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet are also learnt to be unhappy and some have expressed it openly. Former Law Minister H.K. Patil, who was not among the 13 Ministers sworn in on Wednesday, said in a cryptic post on X, “The path is always tough for those who believe in ideology. Let us agree to high command’s decision.”Hardly any new facesAn angry senior legislator from Kalyana Karnataka region told The Hindu, “I was promised a Cabinet berth, but not accommodated. This has happened in the past too. I am disappointed. I will not try again. Leaders have looked after their personal interests.”He said leaders had said that those already in the Cabinet would be deployed for party work and fresh faces would be inducted. “What happened to that promise? Those who enjoy power have continued to do so,” he said.One of the about 30 legislators elected multiple times, who had been to Delhi to lobby for Cabinet berths, expressed dismay at the decision to go with the same set of Ministers.A three-time legislator, whose name was being speculated strongly earlier, said that he was hopeful of entering the Cabinet during the expansion. “The real intensity of disappointment will be known after the Cabinet expansion,” he said.Before Monsoon SessionMeanwhile lobbying is expected to intensify in the coming weeks as the expansion is most likely after the Rajya Sabha election on June 18 and before the end of June, since the Monsoon Session of the Karnataka Legislature will be held in July. “Ministers need to be given time to prepare for the sessions,” a leader said.About four Cabinet berths could be kept vacant after expansion too, sources.Party sources said that lobbying has not only intensified from legislators elected multiple times, but some first-time legislators are also pushing hard. There are over 50 aspirants from across regions from the Assembly.The party is also under pressure to accommodate more Legislative Council members into the Cabinet. Of the 13 Ministers sworn in, Dr. Yathindra is the only MLC.According to Congress Chief Whip Saleem Ahmed, a Cabinet hopeful himself, in the Karnataka Legislative Council, there is a demand to induct at least three to four MLCs as Ministers. “We are hopeful of our demands will be met during the expansion,” he said.Even during Mr. Siddaramaiah’s tenure some districts such as Kolar, Chikkamagalur, Hassan and Chamarajanagar had gone unrepresented. Demand is coming from legislators of these districts too, sources said, adding that there are other issues such as seniority and caste combination that could crop up. Published - June 04, 2026 09:06 pm IST
