Karnataka: Will Gundu Rao, BK, Gowda become ministers in the second round! story yet to come

New Delhi. Things may have looked almost perfect in Karnataka from photographs at the swearing-in ceremony of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi in Bengaluru on May 20 in the presence of Congress chief ministers and several senior opposition leaders, but the story of discontent behind the scenes is far from over Has not happened. Behind the smiles and best wishes, the absence of some leaders of the state was seen in the oath ceremony. Former Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dinesh Gundu Rao did not attend the function due to high fever and was in Delhi. While sources close to him said that the reason for this was actually that he was not made a cabinet minister.

DK Shivakumar took over as the state chief of the party in December 2019 after Dinesh Gundu Rao resigned from the post of state president taking responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the Karnataka bypolls. Rao’s supporters say their leader was in no mood to attend the swearing-in ceremony and could not understand why only eight ministers were sworn in. While at least 10 including Rao could be included in the cabinet. Not only Rao, BK Hariprasad and Krishna Byre Gowda were also not seen at the oath ceremony.

there is room for new ministers
After the results came, BK was kept in Bengaluru in the hope that he would get a place in the cabinet. Since then he has switched off his phone and is not in touch with the top leadership of the party. Krishna Byre has also refused to comment and perhaps he has adopted a wait-and-watch policy. Karnataka can have 34 ministers, but only eight took oath on May 20. No woman minister was sworn in, Brahmin and upper caste faces were also absent. Top Congress sources told News18 that they were not planning more than 10 ministers in the first round. There is time and place for more ministers. We wanted to give immediate representation in the cabinet to those who voted for us.

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cabinet expansion expected in a week
The next round of cabinet expansion in Karnataka is expected in a week. Both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah will go to Delhi to finalize the other names. If the names of Dinesh Gundu Rao, BK and Gowda do not figure in the list, it could create trouble for the new government. Worse, this dissension within the party could also affect the electoral outcome of the Congress, which is focussing on the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Interestingly, the list of eight ministers was released by Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal. This also raised eyebrows, as the BJP asked why the CM should not officially take the decision. The dust has not settled on the Karnataka story yet.

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Tags: Congress, DK Shivakumar, Karnataka Assembly Election 2023, Siddaramaiah