Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is set to travel to New Delhi on Saturday to meet the Congress high command amid growing differences over the allocation of Cabinet portfolios. The visit comes days before the Monsoon Session of the Karnataka Legislature, scheduled to begin on August 13. Several senior Congress leaders are reportedly lobbying for key departments, prompting Shivakumar to seek the party leadership's intervention to settle the issue.
On Friday night, Shivakumar met former Chief Minister and Congress Working Committee member Siddaramaiah at his residence in Bengaluru. The two leaders held a closed-door discussion and are understood to have discussed ways to address dissatisfaction among senior legislators before the Assembly session. Shivakumar is hopeful that intervention from the Congress leadership will help resolve the differences and allow the ruling party to face the Opposition with a united front.
The distribution of Cabinet portfolios has reportedly caused discontent among some legislators, including concerns over the representation of different social groups. The Lingayat community has seven Cabinet berths, while several legislators are seeking departments considered important, including Social Welfare, Labour, Higher Education and Excise. The competition for key portfolios has added to the pressure on the Chief Minister to reach an internal consensus.
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The situation intensified after seven-time MLA T.B. Jayachandra expressed reservations over the developments. Shivakumar visited Jayachandra's residence after his meeting with Siddaramaiah. Jayachandra had reportedly indicated that he could sit separately from ruling party members over his concerns regarding the handling of Cabinet portfolios. Shivakumar said he visited Jayachandra, who is the pro tem Speaker, to seek his guidance, while also referring to their longstanding personal association.
Following the meeting, Jayachandra said the matter had been resolved and that he would resume his duties as Speaker. He said he considered it a constitutional responsibility to discharge his duties and explained that pressure from people in his constituency had prompted him to raise certain concerns. However, he clarified that he had not taken any decision to step away from his responsibilities.
Meanwhile, former minister and senior Dalit leader H.C. Mahadevappa remains dissatisfied over the portfolio issue. Mahadevappa, who is considered close to Siddaramaiah, travelled to Delhi and met Congress Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala. Party insiders said Surjewala heard his concerns and assured him of the party's support, while Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy has reportedly been tasked with addressing the issue and attempting to pacify him. Shivakumar's Delhi meeting is expected to be important in resolving the remaining differences before the Monsoon Session begins.
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