With the Dasara celebrations coming to an end, the Congress high command has summoned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KPCC president G. Parameshwara to New Delhi to decide on the issue of expansion of the State Cabinet, which is long overdue.
Sources in the Congress told The Hindu that Mr. Siddaramaiah will leave for New Delhi on Sunday to consult with the party high command on expansion/reshuffling of the Cabinet. A few days ago, the Chief Minister had said that the Cabinet would be expanded/reshuffled after Navaratri.
Before leaving for New Delhi on Saturday, Dr. Parameshwara called on Congress leader S.M. Krishna and held discussions with him. A few days ago, Mr. Krishna had called on AICC president Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi and had reportedly discussed the “political situation in Karnataka”.
Dr. Parameshwara, who has been lobbying hard to get into the Cabinet, hoped that the Chief Minister would expand the Cabinet this time after talks with the high command.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, accompanied by Dr. Parameshwara, is expected to hold discussions with Digvijaya Singh, AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, and Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on Sunday or Monday.
Meanwhile, a section of aspirants were sceptical on whether there will be a Cabinet expansion. The exercise had been postponed several times. Many aspirants shared a similar concern stating that the elections to the Legislative Council and the zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat polls in December and January could come in the way of the Cabinet expansion.
Siddaramaiah had said the Cabinet would be expanded/reshuffled after Navaratri
