Siddu-DK under pressure from loyalists to complete cabinet expansion this weekend

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is expected to expand his ministry on the weekend with about 20 additional ministers as he has been under pressure to end the delay over assignment of portfolios to ministers.

Siddaramaiah and deputy CM Shivakumar are dealing with heightened pressure from their loyalists for a berth in the cabinet. The party has won 135 seats in the May 10 assembly polls, and there are several seniors who have also been former ministers.

Many of them are lobbying hard with top leaders in Delhi after reports emerged that the party is unlikely to include veterans in the cabinet.


Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar separately flew to Delhi on Wednesday with their respective lists for discussions with the high command. Both leaders have their own set of loyal followers, and there are speculations that each may get to suggest 10 names to the leadership.

The two leaders are wrestling with challenges of balancing the caste and region representation in the cabinet alongside recognising seniority and loyalty. Then comes the next challenge of managing demands for portfolios.

The Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar are waiting for the cabinet expansion to be over to assign portfolios. This will help them prevent any disappointment reallocation of portfolios may cause later if they do one round now and make changes later.

The cabinet has eight ministers now besides the two top leaders, who took oath last Saturday. The CM and Dy CM are under pressure to assign them responsibilities at the earliest as the government is preparing itself to implement the five big-ticket guarantees to voters. On Wednesday, former CM Basavaraj Bommai too sought a response from Siddaramaiah on the delay for assigning portfolios to new ministers.

The Congress regime is defending the delay citing the precedent set by the BJP leader BS Yediyurappa who worked as a one-member Cabinet for more than three weeks in July 2019 when the BJP formed the government after the collapse of the JDS-Congress coalition regime.