‘Can’t accommodate all’: DK Shivakumar on grumbling over cabinet expansion

“I have been in politics for four decades. I am hurt,” Patil said, adding that he is yet to take a call on quitting the party.

Gopalkrishna, on the other hand, said he would resign as MLA and also as chairman of the State Forest Industries Corporation. “Only if you are children of Chief Ministers or ministers, will you have a chance (of becoming a minister)… I will resign as MLA and from the chairmanship of the Board I am appointed to,” he said.

“There are many MLAs. It is not possible to accommodate everyone. Earlier, I too missed out on a ministerial berth in the Siddaramaiah Cabinet. But didn’t I become a minister later? Similarly, we will provide opportunities to everyone in the future. Right now, I am heading to Lok Bhavan,” Shivakumar told reporters.

A party-hopper, Gopalkrishna first won the Assembly election in 2004 as a BJP candidate and retained the seat in 2008. After being denied a ticket for the 2013 elections, he switched to the JD(S) and unsuccessfully contested the Sagar seat. He joined the Congress in 2018.

Another former minister Dinesh Gundu Rao expressed his “concerns’ in a social media post. “Throughout my career in politics, I have been extremely grateful to serve the people of Karnataka – as an MLA and as a Minister, working on initiatives I truly believe have made a difference on the ground. Being a six-time MLA is only possible because of the trust people keep placing in me, and that means everything. My commitment to the Congress party and to my constituents has never wavered. I’ve held various positions right from Youth Congress, to District Congress, KPCC and AICC. At the end of the day, I’ve worked hard, been fiercely loyal, ideologically clear, and given my best for the people who’ve stood by me – that’s what matters most to me. Ultimately, what drives me is a commitment to good governance, good values, and to serving the public. I have, and always will, continue to work honestly and with integrity. It is disappointing that after so many years of service to the state and the party, I have not been considered to serve the government in this cabinet. I am disappointed by decisions taken without being given any reason for my exclusion. With that being said, I will continue to work for my people and towards the betterment of Karnataka,” he said in a post on X.

The dissent came on the day the Congress filled the remaining 20 vacancies in the Cabinet, two months after D K Shivakumar was sworn in as Chief Minister along with 13 ministers. Of the 20 inducted on Monday, nine are fresh faces. Reacting to the development, Shivakumar said it was not possible to “accomodate everyone”. “It is not possible to accommodate all, we will provide opportunities in future,” he told ANI.

Siddaramaiah stamp

However, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah appeared to have had the upper hand, with 21 of the 33 ministers in the Cabinet having served in his Cabinet.

Despite deliberations with the high command over the past three weeks regarding the choice of ministers, there were last-minute changes in the list released by the AICC.

While former minister Mankala Vaidya was featured in the list released around Monday noon, it was soon withdrawn. The revised list dropped Vaidya to accommodate S S Mallikarjun, also a former minister.

Shantagowda, on the another hand, was advised against taking oath at the last minute over differences within factions of party regarding the choice of the woman minister, sources said.

Speculations are rife that Umashree, who is seen as a part of the Siddaramaiah camp and was picked as the Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council, will now be part of Shivakumar Cabinet. Shantagowda is expected to be named as her replacement.

Party sources said Mallikarjun — whose wife Prabha Mallikarjun is MP from Davanagere, and son Samarth Mallikarjun is MLA from Davanagere South — was accommodated after he allegedly threatened to quit the party if he was not included in the Cabinet.

Both Patil and Gopalkrishna said that despite the party’s assurance that new faces would find a place in the Cabinet, a majority of ministers who had served under Siddaramaiah were retained.

Protests by supporters of legislators aspiring for Cabinet berths were also reported from several parts of the state.