New Delhi, 17 July

Karnataka PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Friday said preliminary discussions on the much-awaited Cabinet expansion have begun, with another round of talks expected soon before the list of candidates is finalised. Talking to reporters, the Congress leader from Belagavi pressed for greater representation for his home district, though he acknowledged that the final call rests with the Congress high command.

The developments came a day after Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and his predecessor Siddaramaiah held discussions with the party's top leadership on the Cabinet expansion, which is expected to take place before the next Assembly session.

"With respect to the Cabinet expansion, I have shared my views and the rest is left to the party. The preliminary discussions have begun. Another round of discussion will be held soon before finalising (the list of candidates)," Jarkiholi said.

Asked whether the list would be finalised by Monday or Tuesday, he said he was not certain but expected it to be done soon. "The discussions have begun and will continue," he added.

On whether all 20 vacancies would be filled in one go, Jarkiholi said he was not sure and that "the High Command would know."

According to sources, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge is likely to return to Delhi and take stock of the list of probable candidates presented by the state unit. State leaders may be summoned for a final round of discussions before the list is cleared.

Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi at his residence on Thursday and also held talks with AICC in-charge for Karnataka, Randeep Surjewala. However, they could not meet Kharge, who had to leave for Bengaluru urgently.

"The discussions have just started. These are preliminary discussions, and very soon there will be an expansion of the Karnataka Cabinet," Surjewala told reporters after the meeting.

He said there are 20 vacancies in the Karnataka Cabinet, including the post of assembly speaker, and that the attempt would be to fill all of them.

Asked when the expansion would take place, Surjewala said it was likely to happen before the assembly session beginning August 6.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president B K Hariprasad, who was present at the meeting, later told reporters that discussions would resume in a day or two, once Kharge returned from Bengaluru.

Following their meeting with Gandhi, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah discussed the list of probable candidates with Surjewala.

In a subsequent round of talks with the chief minister and other leaders, Surjewala said discussions were ongoing on multiple issues, including the organisation of the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' programme.

The Congress government in Karnataka currently has 14 ministers against a total sanctioned strength of 34.

Sources said discussions would also cover filling the vacant post of assembly speaker, after U T Khader took over as Health Minister, as well as the vacancy of Deputy Chairperson of the Legislative Council.

Surjewala had said candidates would be selected keeping in mind the representation based on caste, religion and region.

Sources said that priority would also likely be given to young leaders, and that a woman minister is expected to be inducted, since the Cabinet currently has no woman member.