- Karnataka Chief Minister urged Congress leaders to stay patient after Cabinet expansion protests
- Several senior Congress legislators were left out of the new ministry, causing widespread discontent
- Disappointed MLAs from Raichur, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Gadag, and Vijayanagar voiced regional neglect
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday appealed to disgruntled Congress leaders to remain patient after the long-awaited Cabinet expansion triggered protests, resignation threats and widespread disappointment among legislators who failed to secure ministerial berths.
Reacting to the growing dissent, Shivakumar said many deserving and senior legislators could not be accommodated in the ministry and urged them not to lose hope.
"I am now heading to Lok Bhavan after sending the final list there. There are many deserving and senior leaders. I do not deny that. However, the party has to take decisions based on various considerations," the Chief Minister told reporters.
Shivakumar said he too had been overlooked for ministerial positions in the past.
"I was not inducted into the Cabinet in 2004. Even during former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's tenure, I remained out of the Cabinet for a long time. I remained patient, and it is because of that patience that I am in this position today," he said.
Appealing to disappointed legislators to exercise restraint, Shivakumar said the party would create opportunities for everyone in due course.
"I request everyone to remain patient. We will create opportunities for everyone in one way or another. I sincerely appeal to all our leaders to have patience," he said.
Despite the Chief Minister's appeal, discontent continued to surface from several parts of the state.
Six-time MLA Tanveer Sait, who was overlooked for a Cabinet berth, said he was deeply moved by the support extended by his party workers.
"Ever since I was attacked, my party workers have stood firmly behind me. They have been offering prayers for me. They are my strength. I will decide after consulting my supporters," Sait said.
Five-time MLA Hampanagouda Badarli expressed disappointment over the lack of representation to Raichur district in the expanded ministry, saying the district had once again been ignored despite senior leaders from the region.
In Bengaluru, supporters of Govindarajanagar MLA Priya Krishna staged protests after he failed to secure a Cabinet berth. Priya Krishna and his father, senior Congress MLA M. Krishnappa, were both in the race for a ministerial berth, with the expectation that at least one of them would be accommodated. However, neither found a place in the expanded Cabinet.
The Cabinet expansion has also sparked resentment among legislators from Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts, who are scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the issue of inadequate regional representation in the ministry.
Similarly, Congress legislators from Gadag and Vijayanagar districts have also expressed dissatisfaction over the Cabinet formation, alleging that their districts were overlooked despite repeated demands for representation.
Bringing an end to months of speculation and prolonged political suspense, the Congress government on Monday finally decided to expand the Karnataka Cabinet, with the party high command approving the induction of 20 legislators as ministers.
The Congress party is believed to balance experience and fresh faces in the expanded Karnataka Cabinet. However, the inclusion of senior Congress leader and MLA B. Nagendra has emerged as one of the most surprising decisions of the leadership, with the Opposition expected to target the government over the alleged Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam.
The Congress leadership's last-minute changes to the Karnataka Cabinet expansion list sparked widespread resentment within the party on Monday, with several disappointed legislators threatening to resign from their Assembly memberships, supporters staging protests and one party worker allegedly consuming poison in protest.
In a dramatic development ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, the Congress high command reportedly dropped Mankal S. Vaidya from the final list of ministers and instead inducted former minister S.S. Mallikarjun.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
