Cabinet expansion in Karnataka likely on Aug 3, final list to be cleared before swearing-in

Karnataka's much-awaited cabinet expansion is now likely to take place on Monday, August 3, with the final list of ministers expected to be cleared by Sunday, August 2, night or Monday morning, sources close to Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said.

According to the sources, the decision was taken at a meeting held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in New Delhi on Thursday.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala and Congress Karnataka president B K Hariprasad attended the meeting.

Sources close to the chief minister told PTI that the leadership discussed the probable candidates for induction into the cabinet, taking into account caste, religion and regional representation.

"It was decided that the list of the probable candidates will be cleared on Sunday night or by Monday morning. The cabinet expansion is now likely to take place on Monday evening," the sources said.

The expansion had earlier been expected to take place on Friday, but the schedule has now been pushed back following the discussions in Delhi, they added.

The cabinet expansion has been under discussion for several weeks after Shivakumar assumed office as chief minister on June 3.

At present, Karnataka has 14 ministers, including the chief minister, against the permissible strength of 34, leaving 20 vacancies in the council of ministers.

With a large number of vacancies still to be filled, Congress legislators have intensified lobbying for a place in the ministry.

Sources said the party leadership is attempting to strike a balance among various social groups and regions while finalising the list of ministers.