Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah to meet high command: Who gets what in Karnataka Congress's new power structure?

Karnataka Chief Minister-designate D.K. Shivakumar and caretaker Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will travel to Delhi on Monday to hold discussions with the Congress high command on cabinet formation and the party's organisational restructuring in the state.

According to party sources, the two leaders will fly together to the national capital. Siddaramaiah's son and MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, who is widely seen as a contender for a ministerial berth, is also expected to attend the meetings.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Yathindra said he was hopeful of being inducted into the cabinet and claimed that the party leadership had assured him of a ministerial position.

Several Congress MLAs, including Sharan Prakash Patil, Raghavendra Hitnal and Basanagouda Daddal, are also heading to Delhi to meet senior party leaders.

Shivakumar is scheduled to be sworn in as Chief Minister on June 3, days after Siddaramaiah stepped down, bringing an end to a prolonged power tussle between the two senior leaders. Sources indicated that the new cabinet may see the induction of several fresh faces, with some ministers from the outgoing government likely to be dropped.

The Delhi meetings are expected to focus on the allocation of cabinet portfolios, the appointment of a new Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, and the possibility of creating deputy chief minister posts as part of a broader exercise in social and regional representation.

While speculation continues over the creation of multiple deputy chief minister positions, the Congress leadership has maintained that no formal proposal on the matter has been considered so far.

Former Karnataka Public Works Department minister and Yamakanamaradi MLA Satish Jarkiholi said he had not sought any particular position but acknowledged that discussions on ensuring social representation in the new government would begin soon.

Jarkiholi is considered a frontrunner for the KPCC president's post and is viewed as a consensus candidate capable of maintaining harmony among various factions within the party.

Meanwhile, supporters of senior Congress MLA M.B. Patil have intensified their demand for a key role for the veteran Lingayat leader, with suggestions ranging from the KPCC chief's post to a deputy chief ministerial position representing the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community.

Former minister K.H. Muniyappa also expressed confidence in the party leadership amid speculation over representation for leaders from his camp and the possible inclusion of his daughter, MLA Roopa Shashidhar.

"I have worked under the high command for 30 years. Whatever decision the high command takes, we will abide by it," Muniyappa told reporters.

Yathindra, while reiterating his aspiration for a cabinet berth, dismissed reports linking him to the deputy chief minister's post.

"We have neither made any proposal nor raised any demand for the deputy CM's post. We also do not know what the high command will decide," he said.