Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (RJP)

Bengaluru, Feb 27: State chief minister Siddaramaiah, who was in New Delhi on Friday to meet the Congress top brass, has managed to get a nod from them for the cabinet expansion as well as a reshuffle. The high command feels that a cabinet expansion will give more credibility to the government. It is expected that cabinet expansion will take place in April after the budget session.

While Siddaramaiah managed to get approval from the high command, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, some sources said the meetings were not very pleasant for the chief minister. He had to answer few questions on the defeat at Hebbal by- polls, average performance in the zilla panchayat (ZP) and taluk panchayat (TP) elections and the now infamous wrist watch issue.

It is said that the high command also raised its concerns regarding the style of administration of Siddaramaiah led government. Siddaramaiah was even told to change his body language during his interactions with others. Siddaramaiah kept on insisting that everything will be fine, once cabinet is expanded and reshuffled for which the high command finally agreed.

Siddaramaiah had also met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel later.

Siddaramaiah reportedly said that it was because of the wrong choice of candidate at Hebbal, Congress lost the seat and other candidate would have secured a victory there. On ZP and TP elections Siddaramaiah said that performance could have been better if some leaders had worked with unity, but yet it was better than last time. On his expensive wristwatch issue, Siddaramaiah repeated what he said to the media saying the watch was gifted to him by his friend.

Now, with all hurdles cleared, it is only a matter of few weeks to see the cabinet expended.