Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jun 6: Congress party, it is learnt, has a long line of leaders aspiring to become ministers. With limited posts in its command, and pressure to infuse young blood, the party now plans to satisfy some of the senior leaders who would be disgruntled at not being able to become ministers, by offering to them posts which attract cabinet rank facilities.

The party wants to give these leaders chairmanships of statutory boards and corporations, several of which attract facilities on par with cabinet ministers. In case of some other posts which are currently not of this rank, the party wants to make all out efforts to bring these posts on level with cabinet ministers. This, the party believes, will handle dissident activities to a large extent.

The coordination committee meeting comprising chairman, Siddaramaiah, and members, Dr G Parameshwar and K C Venugopal of the Congress and JD(S) general secretary, Danish Ali and chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, is expected to hold its first ever meeting after the first ever cabinet expansion. Congress party is likely to raise the said issue at this meeting.

Congress has 22 ministerial posts in its kitty while the number of aspirants is more than double this number, it is said. JD(S) has 12 posts and in that party too resentment on various issues like one district-one post, no post for MLCs etc is brewing.

If both parties have their way of offering cabinet rank posts to unhappy members, they can, to an extent, quell the discontentment, leaders believe.