Bangalore: Disgruntled former ministers Malikayya Guttedar and Dr A. B. Malakareddy and a few other ministerial aspirants have decided to step up their campaign for induction into the cabinet.
Guttedar, who demanded a berth in the cabinet in his letter to central leaders of Congress, told Deccan Chronicle that like-minded legislators would meet soon and chalk out the future course of action.
“We are planning to meet soon. I will certainly write another letter to central leaders, requesting them to direct the Chief Minister to expand his cabinet ahead of Lok Sabha elections,” he added.
Meanwhile, one of the aspirants disclosed that they would keep the pressure on central leaders for a quick expansion of the cabinet. “It is well known fact that energy minister D. K. Shivakumar could get into the cabinet only because he kept on persuading central leaders. Our camp too wants to adopt the same strategy,” he added.
The legislator said his camp was aware of the fact that Siddaramaiah was not keen on carrying out the exercise. “At this juncture, Siddaramaiah has reportedly suggested to central leaders that he would not able to carry out an expansion of the cabinet or revamp state-owned boards and corporations as he would need time to draw up the budget.
“This would be his crucial and full-fledged budget. So, he has sought time till Lok Sabha elections are over. But, we will not give up,” the legislator added.
