Hectic parleys in Delhi over ministry formation; CLP to meet today

Hectic parleys in the Congress continued in New Delhi over the formation of the next government as factions pushed for greater share in power when the new government under D.K. Shivakumar will be formed shortly. While the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) will meet on Saturday to elect its new leader, the contours of the next government will also be known by then.

Meanwhile, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Friday accepted the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and has asked him to continue as the caretaker Chief Minister till the next government is formed.

On Dy CM posts

One of the sticky points on which consultations have continued, a senior leader said, was of the composition of the Cabinet whether there was a need to have the post of Deputy Chief Minister at all. While Mr. Siddaramaiah is pushing the party to decide on having multiple Deputy Chief Ministers to represent different caste groups, Mr. Shivakumar has been resisting the idea.

“The party had Deputy Chief Ministers in the past for various reasons. G. Parameshwara held the position in Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress alliance (headed by JD (S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy), and Mr. Shivakumar held the position on the strength of being KPCC chief. Such situation is not there now. There are fears that having multiple Deputy Chief Ministers could create parallel power centres that the party does not want,” the leader explained. Sources said that the current deliberations were on to have two Deputy Chief Ministers.

Mix of minstry

Party sources also said that the discussions were being had whether a full Cabinet should be sworn in along with the Chief Minister or about 15 Ministers. “The discussions currently are on having a good mix of experience and also young faces. Ultimately, high command will decide on the Deputy Chief Minister posts and Cabinet formation as well.” Another source said that it was likely that the new Cabinet could see about 10 to 15 new faces, and several seniors could be dropped depending on caste and regional factors.

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee on Friday announced that the CLP meeting chaired by Mr. Siddaramaiah will be held at Vidhan Soudha on Saturday evening to elect the new leader. Besides Mr. Shivakumar and Floor leader in Legislative Council N.S. Boseraju, Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala will be taking part.

Regarding the swearing in ceremony of Mr. Shivakumar, sources close to him said that multiple locations were being discussed as they are expecting a big crowd. “The swearing in ceremony will be held next week and dates are being discussed,” sources said.

Hectic parleys

On Friday, the scene shifted to Delhi where leaders have been holding discussions with various stakeholders to arrive at consensus on the government formation, a new chief for the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee besides party’s nominees for the upcoming Rajya Sabha and Karnataka Legislative Council elections. Both leaders are learnt to have briefed the central leadership on these issues. Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar held discussions even as both the leaders met Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal separately.

Mr. Siddaramaiah’s son and MLC Yathindra accompanied the veteran leader during his meetings with the central leadership.

Several Ministers from Mr. Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet are also camping in Delhi or reached the national capital on Friday with discussion on Cabinet formation and Deputy Chief Minister taking the centre stage. While Byrathi Suresh, a close confidante of Mr. Siddaramaiah, met Mr. Shivakumar and his brother D.K. Suresh, Valmiki leader Satish Jarkiholi, an aspirant for KPCC president’s post, is learnt to have met Mr. Shivakumar.