Bengaluru, 9 June

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar will be in New Delhi for two days from Wednesday, during which he will meet party leadership, and likely discuss cabinet expansion and portfolio allocation issues amid disgruntlement among some ministers, party sources said on Tuesday.

During his first visit to Delhi as the Chief Minister, he will also attend the NITI Aayog governing council meeting and meet some top bureaucrats.

As per Shivakumar's travel plan shared with the media, he will land in New Delhi by Wednesday noon and call on AICC leaders in the afternoon.

Thereafter, he will visit the AICC office and offices of the party's various frontal organisations. In the evening, he will convene a meeting of senior IAS officers.

On Thursday, he is attending the 11th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog.

The chief minister's Delhi visit comes as several Congress legislators are camping in Delhi lobbying for cabinet berths during the next expansion. There is a demand to induct fresh faces into the ministry.

Shivakumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister along with 13 Ministers on 3 June, following Siddaramaiah's resignation as CM on 28 May.

With the sanctioned strength of Karnataka's ministry being 34, including the CM, 20 berths are still vacant, and speculations are rife that most of them will be filled by the end of this month.

With many ministerial aspirants and limited berths available, Shivakumar has a tightrope to walk, as he risks large-scale disgruntlement among those who will be left out.

Meanwhile, disgruntlement was there among some Ministers sworn in last week over portfolio allocation.

Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who was given the Greater Bengaluru Development portfolio, is reportedly unhappy over the chief minister retaining direct control over Bengaluru's two influential departments-Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) - and has therefore not yet assumed charge of the department.

He has been entrusted with the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and five city corporations under it, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bengaluru Metro.

According to party sources, Gowda is in Delhi to meet the high command to seek clarity regarding his portfolio, as the BDA and BMRDA are responsible for several key mega projects planned for the city.

While the BDA is handling some of the city's biggest projects, such as the Rs 27,000-crore Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC) and the Rs 1,200-crore Hebbal short tunnel project, the BMRDA has taken up the Bidadi township project.

Meanwhile, Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs Minister K H Muniyappa, who had openly expressed unhappiness over the portfolio, reportedly met top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the airport here today during the latter's visit to the city to pay homage to AICC Secretary Suraj Hegde, who passed away on Sunday night.

Speaking to reporters about whether he will continue in the allocated department, Muniyappa said, "I will follow what the high command has said.

I have appealed that I'm a senior and should be given a portfolio where I can serve the poor. I have brought it to the notice of Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, the Chief Minister and KPCC President B K Hariprasad. I'm a disciplined soldier of the party, and I will follow what they say. I have taken charge and started working."

"The decision is left to the high command. I have shared my opinion. I will work in whichever portfolio the high command gives, it is left to them," he added.