Overview
- The state ministry has a sanctioned strength of 34 but only 13 ministers have been sworn in, leaving 20 vacant berths that the party must fill.
- A delegation of Muslim religious leaders met Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Monday, June 22, and submitted a memorandum urging the induction of senior MLC Saleem Ahmed into the cabinet.
- Shivakumar said he will convey the delegation’s request to the Congress high command and framed the expansion as the national leadership’s prerogative rather than his personal decision.
- Reports say earlier objections by some senior ministers over portfolios were settled after intervention by the party high command, reducing the risk of open revolt before the wider expansion.
- The pending expansion will test the high command’s ability to balance demands from Muslim, Vokkaliga, Lingayat, Christian and regional leaders and could shape patronage and governance in North and Kittur Karnataka.