Congress scores 2-1 in bypolls, breather for Siddaramaiah

BANGALORE: Congress' better-than-expected performance in the bypolls, where it won two of the three seats, has come as a shot in the arm for CM Siddaramaiah who is facing dissent within the party. While this result strengthens the hand of energy minister DK Shivakumar, who is credited with winning the Bellary Rural constituency for the Congress from the BJP, it's a huge setback for BJP MP and Reddy brothers' aide B Sriramalu, who fielded his personal assistant from the seat he vacated. The results, a day ahead of the Congress coordination committee meeting in Bangalore on Tuesday, will give the CM elbow room to negotiate with partymen on the contours of his cabinet. While a cabinet expansion is on the cards to fill the four vacancies, there are demands that he go for an overhaul that would involve dropping a few poor performers, which Siddaramaiah reportedly doesn't want to do. The two victories - in Bellary Rural and Chikkodi-Sadalga - will give the CM a bigger voice on who, among the multiple aspirants, should get into his cabinet. -TOI