Halfway through government tenure, Siddaramaiah not ready to give up CM chair

In Congress-ruled Karnataka, a major cabinet reshuffle is on the cards in November.

- BELLIE THOMAS

In fact the buzz is that there could even be a leadership change in the state. Amid this, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to be getting ready to cling on to his chair, even as Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and a group of Dalit ministers including Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara are parroting the line that they will go by whatever the party high command decides. Sources say that Sid-daraamaiah’s strategy is to carry out a major reshuffle to signal that it is he who is in charge, and that there will be no change in the Chief Minister’s post. After all, he is completing 2.5 years of heading the government and may come under some pressure to vacate his chair for his deputy, D.K. Shivakumar.

Siddaramaiah hosted a dinner for all Congress MLAs amid rumours that there would be a major cabinet reshuffle in November. As the government’s half tenure of 2.5 years comes to an end, some shuffling of ministerial portfolios is expected. In fact, Congress sources say that around 50% of the cabinet ranks will be changed. However, the same sources also indicate that these changes will be in accordance with CM Siddaramaiah continuing in power for the rest of the 2.5 years.

Meanwhile, D.K. Shiva-kumar is claiming that he does not know of any possible cabinet reshuffle. He is maintaining that in the Congress, everyone listens to whatever the CM says. But he has also said that if someone is speculating about a leadership change, that would be decided by the Congress high command.