Siddaramaiah’s picks ignored during Karnataka Cabinet reshuffle, says son Yathindra

Mahadevappa, a staunch Siddaramaiah loyalist, had served as a minister throughout Siddaramaiah’s tenure as chief minister, and his son, Sunil Bose, is currently the MP for Chamarajanagar. The exclusion of Mahadevappa and other senior aspirants from the Old Mysore belt, Siddaramaiah’s home turf, has triggered widespread resentment among local party workers.

Clarifications on Muslim representation

Yathindra’s revelations follow a high-stakes visit by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala to Bengaluru on Wednesday to appease aggrieved senior leaders passed over in the reshuffle.

Addressing rumours that Siddaramaiah had blocked veteran MLA Tanveer Sait’s induction, Yathindra dismissed the allegations as baseless.

“Father, as everyone knows, had not recommended Zameer Ahmed Khan’s name. As two ministerial berths were allocated for Muslim candidates, one could have gone to Tanveer Sait,” Yathindra clarified. “However, for various strategic reasons, the high command chose Zameer. My father had no role in that decision.”

Yathindra added that he was unaware of how many from Siddaramaiah’s original list of 14 nominees were ultimately selected by the high command.

Discontent mounts for D K Shivakumar-led Cabinet

The public disclosures come at a difficult juncture for Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and his Cabinet, which is struggling to contain growing disgruntlement within party ranks. Despite mediation efforts by Surjewala, Shivakumar, and senior party leaders, discontent continues to simmer.

Late Wednesday night, former ministers Dinesh Gundu Rao and H K Patil, both key figures in the previous Siddaramaiah administration, met in Bengaluru. In a video released by Patil’s office, the duo was seen candidly expressing bewilderment over the high command’s selection process.

“…were removed from the Cabinet. I don’t know what the criteria was. As for those who were made ministers now, I don’t know what the criteria is either. This has never happened in the past. It is strange,” Rao was overheard remarking, with Patil nodding in agreement.

The reshuffle dynamics signal a notable shift in the state’s political equations, highlighting a decline in Siddaramaiah’s once-unrivalled authority over Karnataka Congress affairs.

Several former lieutenants have gradually distanced themselves from the veteran leader. Following a rift with B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan after the Davangere South bypoll, another former key aide, Minister Satish Jarkiholi, has increasingly sought to position himself as Siddaramaiah’s successor to lead the influential AHINDA movement, the powerful political coalition of minority groups, backward classes, and Dalits.