Karnataka Cabinet Expansion Met with Discontent Within Congress Party

The much-anticipated Karnataka Cabinet expansion finally materialised on Monday with the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administering the oath of office and secrecy to 19 Ministers. However, several Congress legislators were disgruntled; an MLA even resigned after he was not inducted into the Cabinet. Chief Minister D K Shivakumar appealed to them to be patient, insisting that his patience brought him to the position he is in now. He spoke amid simmering discontent within the party, with supporters of some disappointed ministerial aspirants protesting and a couple of legislators offering to resign as MLAs. "There are many legislators, many of them are eligible; I'm not denying that. The party has to make decisions in some situations. I too was not considered for the minister post in 2004; during the Siddaramaiah government too (in 2013-18) I was not taken into the cabinet initially. I remained patient," Shivakumar said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, "I'm sitting in this position because I remained patient. I request everyone to be patient. We will create some opportunity for everyone. Please be patient." Unhappy over being excluded from the cabinet expansion, Congress MLA from Indi, Yashavantarayagouda V Patil submitted his resignation from his legislative post on Monday. Sagara MLA Belur Gopalakrishna also expressed his displeasure and his intention to resign.