After 2 weeks and some cajoling, Rahul Gandhi, Cong finalise K'taka ministers
Bengaluru: Two weeks after Janata Dal Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy took oath as the chief minister of Karnataka, his ally Congress has finally zeroed in on ministers.
The cause of the uncertainty within the Congress is D K Shivkumar, who had been the party’s biggest crisis manager at the time when the party was trying to prevent its lawmakers from being poached by the BJP, which was just short of an outright majority.
Shivakumar wanted to be Deputy Chief Minister but according to sources to NDTV, after a meeting with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, he has agreed to settle for two ministries. Shivakumar is likely to take charge of the irrigation ministry, with medical education as the second portfolio.
Along with him K J George and Priyank Kharge are also expected to be sworn in.
Names were discussed during a meeting between the Congress president Rahul Gandhi and senior Karnataka leaders on Tuesday.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his party Janata Dal Secular are against a second Deputy Chief Minister after G Parameshwara of the Congress.
Shivakumar, a seven-time lawmaker from the powerful Vokkaliga caste, was told that it would be difficult to get the second Deputy Chief Ministerial post- the Chief Minister is also a Vokkaliga - but he reportedly didn't give up hope until Tuesday evening. There was speculation that Shivakumar could be compensated with the job of the Karnataka Congress chief.
For now, the Congress has to pick 15 cabinet ministers. Eventually, it will have 22 ministers in the 33-member cabinet.
Major portfolios of finance, excise and transport will go to the JD(S). Even Shivakumar's previous power portfolio has gone to the ally JD(S). The Congress gets home, industries and revenue among other portfolios.
For the Congress, which failed to win the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections, it has been a tough balancing act driven by the bigger considerations - the 2019 general election and a strong coalition to beat the BJP in Karnataka.
Karnataka has been a huge confidence booster for opposition parties who turned H D Kumaraswamy's swearing-in ceremony into a show of unity against the BJP.
