Siddaramaiah gets green signal for Cabinet expansion

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday obtained the Congress central leadership’s approval to expand the State Cabinet and fill up three vacancies in the Legislative Council. Mr. Siddaramaiah, who left for Delhi on Friday, called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday and discussed the issues. Party sources said the CM is expected to expand his Council of Ministry within a few days. Nominations to the three council seats are expected to be announced after the Cabinet expansion, sources said. According to sources, legislators from the Lingayat and Kuruba communities are likely to get a place in the Cabinet. Vacancies arose following the death of H.S. Mahadeva Prasad (Lingayat community) and the resignation of H.Y. Meti (Kuruba community). Mr. Siddaramaiah, who was accompanied by the AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Digvijaya Singh, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president and Home Minister G. Parameshwara, Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George, and KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao, is also said to have discussed the names of the candidates nominated to the Legislative Council. The names of Mohan Kondaji, K.P. Nanjundi and C.M. Lingappa are doing the rounds for the Council seats. With the State going to polls next year, the party’s central leadership has asked the CM to take all steps to ensure a Congress victory. Asked about a change of KPCC leadership, Mr. Siddaramaiah told reporters that the central leaders would take a final decision on the matter.