With cabinet reshuffle on the cards, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah flies to Delhi

On Tuesday, while speaking during a Constitution Day programme at the state Congress headquarters, Shivakumar talked about how difficult it was to get even a grama panchayat member to step down. He said that chairmen of various boards and corporations had been asked to make way for others. “We have informed some ministers too (to step down),” he said.

A day later, Shivakumar was in Delhi, where he said his remarks were solely about the chairmen and members of various boards. “Any reshuffle in the cabinet will be decided by the chief minister and party high command,” he said. However, his remarks were seen as indications that the cabinet reshuffle, discussed since the Lok Sabha election results came out, could soon materialise.

Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi, who is tipped to replace Shivakumar as the state Congress chief, acknowledged talks of a reshuffle. “Some ministers will be changed. Some portfolios of ministers will also change. But we don’t know when this will happen,” he said.

While Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that a reshuffle after two years is a good practice, allowing for more MLAs to join the cabinet, Home Minister G Parameshwara said the decision rests with the chief minister and the state Congress president.

“They will discuss with the high command and take a call,” the home minister said, adding that he was ready to take on any role assigned to him by the high command.

According to Congress sources, though the reshuffle should have taken place around August or September, it was delayed due to elections in different states and bypolls for three Assembly seats in Karnataka.

“Now, reshuffle will take place after the winter session of the legislature in Belagavi,” a source said, adding that new ministers could likely take their oaths in the first half of January.

Cabinet members who could face the axe include Primary and Secondary Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar and Municipal Administration Minister Rahim Khan. Among the aspirants for ministerial berths are Dr Ajay Singh, N A Harris and Vinay Kulkarni.

Apart from performance-related concerns, Bangarappa had recently attracted criticism for seeking action against a student who said the “minister does not know Kannada” during an interaction in Kolar. Hebbalkar is under the scanner following the suicide of a government employee in Belagavi who named one of her assistants in his suicide note as responsible for his death.