Cabinet expansion: Nothing much to cheer about for DKS

The much-awaited cabinet expansion has taken place in Karnataka with the expected outcome of disappointed reactions, muted happiness and reconciliation with the party’s politics, which has not often played fair with its aspirants. After much wrangling and speculation about who would get to retain their portfolios, who will be inducted and who will be reshuffled, the list has been released with 19 ministers taking oath on Monday. As is evident, there have been casualties on both sides – meaning the supporters of former chief minister Siddaramaiah and his successor D K Shivakumar. Both have had to give and take the slots of a few of their loyalists to move them in and out of the cabinet. Resignations of a few MLAs too have taken place and in a groupism-laden party like the Congress, the reactions have been mixed but not very surprising. This time, with Shivakumar having had a better negotiation scope with the high command, which still backed the earlier CM (given his vote-gathering skills and belonging to the AHINDA group), the new team has a set of fresh faces, the result of a balancing act of taking care of castes and communities which too has been put in place.

With a hyperactive Opposition of BJP-JD(S) combine trying to pin down the government on contentious issues continuously, Shivakumar had to keep the wolves away from the door given their desperation for cabinet slots. With the first wave of cabinet induction seeing the seniors getting miffed and openly expressing their resentment, this time it was expected that the cabinet formation would be relatively free from dissent, which is not obviously the case. Siddaramaiah deciding to skip the induction ceremony has given a convenient handle for all concerned to sharpen their knives before going for the kill. It is a different matter altogether that Sidda’s son Yathindra has found a place in the cabinet in the first round itself indicating that the inner working of the government would not be under wraps for all and sundry. With the ‘controversial’ Cauvery issue raising up once again and with Shivakumar playing the senior statesman by inviting his Tamil Nadu counterpart Joseph Vijay to join him for talks at Bengaluru it seemed that the state leadership was not keen to let it get out of hand.

With the CWRC directing Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu, matters threatened to spiral into a troublesome zone. That the copious monsoon eased the situation considerably has turned out to be an unexpected relief for the Congress government. Having bagged the right to rule from a dissidence-laden BJP in May 2023, the Congress had to be content with just that achievement as the first phase of its rule under Siddaramaiah saw a lot of administrative problems and law and order issues, even as the Opposition played the minority appeasement card to telling effect. Meanwhile, having bagged the gaddi after a long wait, Shivakumar seemed to have taken off well, but this cabinet expansion can continue to worry him till the dust settles one way or the other. After all, 2028 is not far away and a resurgent saffron party is busy with its counterattacks on the government, grappling with dissidence and an overbearing high command.