Siddaramaiah has his way again, close aide MB Patil given home portfolio

After the much delayed cabinet expansion, all eyes have been on the portfolio allocation. While this might seem like a routine development is any other instance, this time around, this would be an indicator of where the power lies in the Congress party in Karnataka and true to that, veteran leader and former Chief minister Siddaramaiah left his imprint on the cabinet expansion by ensuring his close aide, MB Patil gets the coveted home portfolio.

On December, in a private, plush hotel in Bengaluru, senior leaders of the congress party- Siddaramaiah, KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara,  water resources minister DK Shivakumar and AICC in-charge of Karnataka KC Venugopal met to discuss the portfolio allocation and the open dissidence within the party, after last week’s cabinet expansion saw many miffed senior leaders speak out.

After the 3-hour long meeting, a list was sent for final approval to the Congress high command which was then forwarded to the Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday. The changes included DK Shivakumar given Kannada and culture portfolio, Satish Jakhiholi given Forest and environment, Rahim Khan given youth empowerment and sports, MTB Nagaraju given housing and G Parameshwara given additional charge of IT & BT, science and technology as well as law and parliamentary affairs.

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While this might bring curtains down on the wait and lobbying for induction in to the cabinet, sources have told Republic TV that the meeting was disruptive with Parameshwara and Siddaramaiah crossing swords over the portfolio allocation. While the former CM was keen on getting his supporters plum portfolios, to retain a grip on the government, this was robustly contested by Parameshwara who felt that attempts were being made to take away his portfolios.

Acrimonious words were exchanged between the two, where Parameshwara has reportedly accused the former chief minister of trying to ‘remote-control’ the cabinet despite not being a part of it and continuing with old rivalry. Parameshwara is said to have also added that while Siddaramaiah resisted any interference when he was the CM and on his part, he had obliged, why is he not returning the favour.

With Lok sabha elections approaching, the Congress high command seems to be of the opinion that Siddaramaiah will still be their most high profile vote-catcher and thus exacerbating him at this stage will have repercussions for the party. Evidently, Siddaramaiah's will has prevailed and MB Patil, who was a close confidant of Siddaramaiah in his earlier tenure and the man instrumental in the then state-government’s decision to grant separate religion status to Lingayat, has been rewarded with the home ministry.

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