Talks on the State Cabinet expansion, which were put on the back burner owing to bypolls to the three Lok Sabha and two Legislative Assembly constituencies, are expected to gain momentum in the next few days following emphatic victory by the Congress and JD(S) in four out of five constituencies.
The Cabinet expansion exercise had been postponed in the last two months citing elections — first, polls to urban local bodies and then byelections.
The ruling dispensation, which was jubilant after a 4-1 victory in the byelections, is believed to have shown interest in Cabinet expansion to fill six berths in the Congress quota and two in the JD(S) quota.
In an interview with The Hindu , Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had said “the process of Cabinet expansion and filling the posts of chairpersons of boards and corporations will gain momentum now.”
To put up a united show and ensure victory in bypolls, the Congress leaders had told legislators aspiring to become Ministers to wait till the declaration of results. With bypoll results being declared, the Congress leaders are expected to hold talks with the party high command on Cabinet expansion, sources said.
Party leaders feel that further delay in filling vacant berths would fuel dissidence in the Congress and damage the party’s image ahead of the 2019 general elections. Nearly a dozen Congress legislators have been seeking Cabinet berths. All six Congress legislators from Ballari campaigned unitedly and contributed to the victory of party nominee V.S. Ugrappa. Now, it is the turn of the party to thank them by inducting at least one or two MLAs into the Cabinet, sources said.
Sources also said that JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda and senior Congress leaders are reportedly in favour of Cabinet expansion to ensure smooth functioning of the coalition government.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kumaraswamy is expected to call on Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi to hold talks on filling Cabinet vacancies and forming an alliance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The JD(S) has two vacancies to fill. A vacancy arose following the resignation of N. Mahesh, lone Bahujan Samaj Party MLA, from Kumaraswamy’s ministry. Sources in the State Secretariat said that pro tem chairman of Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti is expected to get Cabinet berth and the Primary and Secondary Education portfolio, which he held during the JD(S)-BJP coalition government over a decade ago.
