New Delhi [India], July 16 : Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday said that the party leadership held the preliminary discussions and cabinet expansion in Karnataka will take place before the Assembly session begins.
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former CM and Congress Working Committee member Siddaramaiah, KPCC president BK Hariprasad met with Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Congress General Secretary (Organisation), KC Venugopal, in New Delhi.
According to BK Hariprasad, the discussions have been postponed by at least a day as Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge was in Bengaluru.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Randeep Surjewala noted that there are 20 vacancies in the cabinet, and the post of Assembly Speaker is also vacant. He said that the Congress government will fill as many vacancies as possible.
"Today, CM DK Shivakumar, former CM and Congress Working Committee member Siddaramaiah, our PCC President BK Hariprasad, and many of our ministers and senior Congress leaders arrived in Delhi. DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah have met with Rahul ji, and they have met with the General Secretary (Organisation), KC Venugopal. The discussions have just begun. I cannot give you a specific date right now; all I can say is that these are preliminary discussions. The Karnataka cabinet expansion will take place very soon," Surjewala said.
The Congress leader added, "There are 20 vacancies in the cabinet, and the post of Speaker is also vacant. Let the consultations take place; anything can be said only after the discussions. The endeavour will be to fill as many vacancies as possible, or indeed all of them. Yes, I fully expect the cabinet formation to be completed before the Assembly session begins."
The Assembly session is likely to be held in July or August.
Meanwhile, on reports of his own induction in the cabinet, Hariprasad has maintained that the party high command will make the decision. He said, "I don't know about it. The high command will decide."
Several MLAS, seers, and community leaders lobbied for ministerial posts in the DK Shivakumar-led cabinet; however, the Congress high command has issued a warning, asking them to exercise patience.
The current Shivakumar cabinet, following Siddaramaiah's resignation, consists of 14 members, including Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara. Priyank Kharge was given the Home Affairs portfolio, while Siddaramaiah's son Yathindra Siddaramaiah became the Minister for Urban Development.