The Hindu : Karnataka News : Hectic lobbying on for berth in new Ministry

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 31, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Hectic lobbying on for berth in new Ministry

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, MAY 30. Hectic canvassing is on in both the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) legislature parties for inclusion of the members in the N. Dharam Singh Council of Ministers.

The Chief Minister will leave for New Delhi on Monday for consultation with the All India Congress Committee president, Sonia Gandhi, and other party leaders over the selection of the Congress team.

The Janata Dal(S) leader and the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, is also expected to leave for New Delhi on Monday or Tuesday. Some of the Ministers in the S.M. Krishna Ministry who have been re-elected or are members of the Legislative Council are camping in New Delhi to ensure their continuation in the new Ministry.

The Chief Minister today held a meeting with the Janata Dal(S) leader, H.D. Kumaraswamy, at the residence of a former Minister, S. Ramesh. Mr. Kumaraswamy, who is one of the sons of Mr. Deve Gowda, is known to command the allegiance of a fair chunk of the Janata Dal(S) MLAs. He has been elected from Ramanagaram to the new Assembly.

In the Congress, there was an attempt to remain silent on the firm stand taken by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, B. Janardhana Poojary, that the Janata Dal(S) could not dictate terms to their party on the selection of Ministers and that no assurance had been held out that it (Janata Dal - S) would get major portfolios. He had further said that the Maharashtra model of coalition would apply only to the offices of the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister. The Chief Minister did not go into Mr. Poojary's statement and merely said that the two coalition parties would get their due in the new Ministry.

The All India Congress Committee General Secretary, Vilasrao Deshmukh, who is in Bangalore, called for cooperation between the two parties for the smooth running of the Government. He was confident that the distribution of portfolios would be smooth. There was a comparative lull in the Janata Dal(S) camp as the Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, was away in Mysore. Of the maximum 34 Ministers for the State laid down under the 97th Amendment to the Constitution, which has fixed a ceiling on the size of the Ministries at 15 per cent of the strength of the Lower House, 32 positions are now available, as Mr. Dharam Singh and Mr. Siddaramaiah have already been sworn in. If the two parties share the 32 Ministerships, they can get a quota of 16 each. The party wants to ensure proper representation for the districts of Mysore, Mandya, Hassan, Tumkur and Kolar in the Old Mysore region, which has given it a good number of seats in the elections. Among its 58 MLAs are 23 Vokkaligas, 13 Lingayats, nine Scheduled Caste members and 10 from Other Backward Classes. The Janata Dal(S) has seven MLCs and the Congress 42.

According to Janata Dal(S) sources, the party wants five of its Vokkaliga legislators in the new Ministry. The office of the Speaker is expected to go to the Janata Dal(S) and its probable candidates are the former Minister and MP, Krishna, elected from Krishnarajpet in Mandya district and the former Deputy Chairman of the Council, B.R. Patil, elected from Aland in Gulbarga district. The former Chairman of the Council, D. Manjunath, is expected to be included in the Ministry. The Congress too has a former Speaker in its ranks, Ramesh Kumar. Some of the Janata Dal(S) legislators who are high in the list for inclusion in the Ministry are P.G.R. Sindhia, M.P. Prakash, H.D. Revanna (son of Mr. Deve Gowda), H.C. Mahadevappa, D.T. Jayakumar, Cheluvarayaswamy, Muniyappa Muddappa, Munishamappa, Channigappa, D. Nagarajaiah, K.M. Krishnamurthy, Mahima Patel, Sharanabasappa Darshanapur and Mirajuddin Patel.

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