Siddaramaiah’s men seek to block reshuffle

Bengaluru: A section of party workers and a few ministers in the Siddaramaiah cabinet met AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh on Tuesday and requested him not to effect the cabinet reshuffle ahead of elections to local bodies which will  happen in six to eight months. This is a direct result of  Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's ‘dinner politics’ with the CM brainstorming with his ministers in two sessions on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, Mr Siddaramaiah was closeted with senior ministers when he reportedly discussed blocking KPCC president, Dr G. Parameshwar's entry into the cabinet. At the second meeting with young ministers (read non performing ministers) on Sunday, he reportedly chalked out strategies to block the cabinet reshuffle, which was seen an attempt to stop senior leaders from trying to  curtail the CM's influence in the cabinet.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a Congress leader disclosed that law minister, T. B. Jayachandra suggested to the AICC general secretary that there was no need for the party to take up a cabinet reshuffle at this juncture as  the axed ministers may work against the party in the local body polls. "It would be inappropriate to undertake the reshuffle now  as it will lead to discontent among those who are dropped and those who fail to make it to the cabinet," the source explained.

According to the source, apart from ministers, close associates of young ministers too met Mr Singh and demanded that the party should give ‘another chance’ to first time ministers who should not be disturbed for two years. "These ministers may have failed to deliver, but  none of them have brought disrepute to the party. So, they should be given at least six months to perform," the group demanded.