Kumaraswamy to expand ministry tomorrow

A fortnight after becoming Chief Minister, H D Kumaraswamy will expand his two-member cabinet tomorrow after days of hard bargaining between the ruling coalition partners, JDS and Congress.

At least nine MLAs from JDS would be inducted into the ministry in the first phase, Kumaraswamy said, on the eve of the expansion exercise, even as Congress was still discussing the names and awaiting the central leadership's green signal till this evening.

Under the power sharing arrangement, Congress will have 22 ministers and the JDS, 12.

Kumaraswamy said there would be "two to three vacancies" which would be filled later.

Deputy chief minister and KPCC chief G Parameshwarasaid the Congress ministers would be a combination of seniors and juniors, setting aside speculation that juniors want seniors to pave the way for them.

"There is no such thing like priority to senior or junior (in allocation of portfolios)," he said in New Delhi before his meeting with the central leadership.

Only Kumaraswamy, along with his deputy Parameshwara, were sworn-in on May 23.

According to official sources, Governor Vajubhai Vala will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers at 2:12 PM at a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.

Congress and JD(S) have also decided on the allocation of portfolios between them as part of the power sharing agreement.

According to the agreement, Congress will get the portfolios of Home, Irrigation, Bangalore City Development, Industry and Sugar Industry, Health, Revenue,Urban Development, Rural Development, Agriculture, Law and Parliamentary Affairs and IT/BT, among others.

The JDS' portfolios include Finance, Excise, Information, Intelligence, Public Works Department, Power,Cooperation, Tourism, Education and Transport.

The ministry expansion exercise has been a complicated affair for both Congress and JD(S), as hectic parleys and lobbying were on for the last fifteen days.

Ever since the chief minister proved his majority on the floor of the assembly on May 25, both parties were driving a hard bargain until Friday last when they announced a power sharing agreement,giving a full five year term to Kumaraswamy.

Yielding ground, Congress had conceded the plum Finance and Power portfolio to its junior partner, resolving a thorny issue.

The power sharing arrangement, particularly giving "cart blanche" to Kumaraswamy for full five years, has caused discontent in the Congress, with some of its leaders believing that it has been yielding much more than required to its junior partner.

In JD(S), several senior party MLAs were seen making a beeline to party supremo Deve Gowda's residence for Minister's posts.

There are also reports of some disgruntlement over the party's decision to keep members of the legislative council out of the ministry.

Kumaraswamy today ruled out any differences among JD(S) MLAs over cabinet berths and allocation of portfolios and said Gowda has been given total freedom on the next phase of cabinet expansion.

While Congress leaders were expected to meet their party president Rahul Gandhi, who returned from a foreign visit last night, in New Delhi to decide on the list, JD(S) was in a last minute huddle to finalise the list.

According to sources, both parties may keep a few portfolios vacant, with a plan to use it to mitigate any trouble that may arise in the future.

While JD(S), according to reports, has decided to induct ministers on region basis (district wise), Congress' planis not clearly known, despite reports that newer faces would be given a chance.

JDS and Congress had stitched up a post-poll alliance at the state level after the May 12 assembly polls yielded a fractured mandate, with BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 members, falling short of the required numbers.

Though BJP had formed the government following the Governor's invitation for the single largest party,it conceded the numbers game with Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa resigning on May 19 without facing the trust vote.