Bengaluru, 23 Feb

A group of first-time Congress MLAs has written to senior party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking representation in the State Cabinet during the proposed reshuffle.

In a joint letter addressed to the High Command and State leadership, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Deputy DK Shivakumar, the legislators urged that at least five first-time MLAs be inducted as ministers.

“The people of Karnataka have elected 38 members to the Assembly for the first time and want to see new, young faces in the Legislature,” the letter stated. The MLAs noted that when the 34-member ministry was formed under Siddaramaiah, no first-time MLA received a Cabinet berth.

They argued that a mix of youth and experience would strengthen governance and help the party return to power in 2028.

Meanwhile, the debate over a Dalit Chief Minister intensified. Senior Vokkaliga minister K Venkatesh asserted that the Chief Minister post is not vacant, defending Siddaramaiah’s leadership amid calls from social welfare minister HC Mahadevappa to elevate a Dalit leader. Venkatesh, who migrated to Congress with Mahadevappa in the early 2000s, said the post may in the future go to Dalit, Lingayat, Vokkaliga, or Kuruba leaders, but Siddaramaiah remains the chief minister.

HomeMinister G Parameshwara accused the opposition of “unnecessarily stoking” the Dalit CM debate to deflect from governance issues. “This is the work of the opposition. The administration is running smoothly, and only Congress has the history and political will to elevate a Dalit leader to the top post,” said Parameshwara.

He emphasised that detailed budget discussions and routine governance have continued normally over the past fortnight.