Aspirants, supporters throng CM Siddaramaiah’s residence for cabinet berths

BENGALURU: With speculation rife about a reshuffle of the cabinet later this month, all aspirants made a beeline to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's official residence here on Saturday.

Besides these aspirants and their supporters, those of incumbent cabinet ministers including M. H. Ambreesh and Baburao Chinchansur rushed to Mr Siddaramaiah’s residence to exert pressure on him not to drop their leaders. Supporters of MLAs A. Manju, Siddunyamagouda, H. Y. Meti, M. Krishnappa and Priya Kirshna met Mr Siddaramaiah and demanded that their leaders be inducted into the cabinet. Mr Siddu Nyamagouda, who earned the reputation of a giant killer when he defeated former chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde in Bagalkot during Lok Sabha elections in 1991, told the media that his district lacked adequate representation in the ministry. Therefore, the Chief Minister should accommodate another legislator from that district. On the other hand, supporters of Mr Chinchansur asserted that their leader was working hard and therefore should not be dropped from the cabinet. Supporters of A. Manju went a step ahead and demanded that Mr Manju not only be inducted into the cabinet but also be made Hassan in-charge minister in order to counter the influence of former PM H.D. Deve Gowda. Meanwhile, reacting to lobbying, Mr. Siddaramaiah asserted that there was nothing wrong in supporters coming to him and demanding a berth for their behalf.

Kagodu, Kimmane to swap places?
Will Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa and primary education and secondary education minister Kimmane Ratnakar swap places during the cabinet reshuffle? Speculation is rife that these leaders who represent different Assembly constituencies in Shivamogga district could switch positions soon. The Speaker, an octogenarian, has repeatedly sought a berth in the cabinet.