Bengaluru, Sep 15: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President G?Parameshwara are likely to leave for New Delhi around September 23 - 24 to hold discussion with the party high command on the long-pending Cabinet expansion/reshuffle.
AICC?General?Secretary in-charge of party affairs in the State, Digvijay Singh, who is on a personal visit to the United States, is expected to return to the national capital on September 21.
At present, there are four vacancies in the state Cabinet. Last week, Siddaramaiah had told reporters that he would expand his ministry by the end of this month.
For the last one year, the Cabinet expansion has been put off several times on one excuse or the other - Assembly bypolls, Dasara festivities, gram panchayat elections among others. However, Siddaramaiah has mustered the courage following the victory of his camp in clinching a deal with the JD(S)?in taking control of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Council. Siddaramaiah scored a point over Parameshwara as the latter was not keen on the alliance.
However, Siddaramaiah will have a lot of political jugglery to do ahead of the exercise as the aspirants are many. Party sources said Siddaramaiah is likely to finalise the appointment of directors and members to various board and corporations soon after the Ganesha festival this week before going ahead with the Cabinet expansion.
It has been eight months since the ruling dispensation appointed chairpersons to various board and corporations, but nomination to the posts of directors had been kept pending.
Through the appointments, Siddaramaiah is expected to get into the good books of a large number of second-rung leaders. As many as 700 appointments to the posts of directors and members to various boards and corporation can be made by the government.
Primarily, whether Parameshwara should be given a Cabinet berth has not been finalised. Parameshwara has been insisting that it will be either deputy chief minister’s post or else nothing.
Parameshwara will be completing five years as KPCC?chief in October this year and the search for a new party president is already on. Sources close to?Siddaramaiah said the chief minister has also not taken a final decision on whether he would drop “non-performing” ministers from the Cabinet.
The names of H?Y Meti, A?Manju, A?B Maalakaraddy, Vinay Kulkarni, ?Mallikaiah Guttedar,?S?S?Mallikarjun (stated to replace his father Shamanur Shivashankarappa in the Cabinet) are making the rounds as probable ministers.
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