Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SHP)

Bengaluru, Jun 7: With a view to control the rebellion in the coalition government, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy has decided to delay the cabinet expansion. Earlier he was looking into either reshuffling or expanding the cabinet.

There are 3 vacancies waiting to be filled. The three possible names which came to the forefront to fill these vacancies were, Ranebennur, MLA R Shankar of Karnataka Pragnavantha Janatha Party, Independent MLA H Nagesh from Mulbagal and one other which would be filled by the coalition partner, the Congress.

The building disappointment of the parties associated is proving troublesome for the chief minister. Some of the senior leaders R Roshan Baig and Ramalinga Reddy have spoken against the party leadership for favouring the 'immigrants.' This has been supported by other party leaders like V Muniyappa and Tanveer Sait, who have also showcased their desire to serve as ministers.

The point to consider now is, the expansion or the reshuffling should not further aggravate the already sensitive matter. It is a dilemma present before Kumaraswamy, who is aware of the list of Congress MLAs who yearn of being inducted in the cabinet.

However, It would be in the interest of the coalition government to postpone expansion or reshuffle of the cabinet for the time being, Congress sources said.

It is also a known point that JD(S) national president H D Deve Gowda is not in favour of inducting Shankar and Nagesh into the cabinet under the party’s quota. He has conveyed it to the Congress to accommodate one of them under its quota.

When asked for a comment about the cabinet expansion, Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah said that the chief minister would be the right person to comment on the same.