Reshuffle in a fortnight, says CM

The appointment of chairmen for boards and corporations will also be done along with the reallocation of portfolios within a fortnight, he added.Both exercises will take place after consulting party leaders H D Deve Gowda, S R Bommai and a senior ministerial committee which decides on the chairmen of the boards and corporations, he said.

Sunday’s expansion, he said, was mainly to give representation to the districts of Bidar, Bijapur, Koppal, Karwar and Davanagere. Dharwad and Bagalkot are still unrepresented, he said. Representation for the Dakshina Kannada, Tumkur and Mandya districts might increase, he added.

On Deve Gowda’s absenceat the swearing-in ceremony, Patel said the former prime minister was visiting Gujarat and had a flight to catch.

However, Gowda was very much in the city, attending the wedding of the daughter of Panchayat Raj Minister M P Prakash and meeting mediapersons later.

Patel also fended off questions on the absence of Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. “Don’t see ghosts where none exist,” he fumed. The absence of some senior leaders was “not politically significant”, he added.The Chief Minister said there was “no compulsion” to expand the ministry.

“It has been done out of my choice. If I had expressed my desire to keep the size of the Cabinet under 35, it was because I was younger then.”

“People will see only what we do and how we perform,” he added.The Chief Minister also said the SC/ST sections had been “adequately represented” in the Cabinet and the BC section contained more than their number in the legislature.

The expansion would not pose any threat to the ministry in view of theheartburn it might cause among legislators, he said.