‘Need of the hour’: Cong faces fresh demand in Karnataka; first-time MLAs seek ministerial berths | India News
New Delhi: For the first time, a group of Congress MLAs from Karnataka has written to senior party leaders, including the Congress national president. Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi — Seeking representation in the State Cabinet during the proposed reshuffleIn a joint representation addressed to the Congress high command and the state leadership – including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister and state unit president DK Sivakumar – the legislators called for inducting at least five first-time MLAs as ministers.“We request you to ensure that at least five first-time MLAs are inducted as ministers during the reshuffle,” the letter said.The MLAs noted that 38 of the 135 Congress MLAs elected to the 224-member House in the 2023 assembly elections were a “clear message” from the people, as they wanted to see “new young faces”.“As you know, the people elected 38 Congress members to the Assembly for the first time and thereby sent a clear message that they want fresh young faces in the Legislature,” the legislators wrote.They also pointed out that when the 34-member ministry was formed under Siddaramaiah, no freshman MLA was inducted into the cabinet.“That being the case, it is fair that first timers are also given space. It is the need of the hour that young, dynamic and active debutant MLAs are given an opportunity to serve as ministers,” the letter said.The signatories argued that appointing new ministers would not be “unprecedented”, noting that several states had first-time legislators as chief ministers or ministers. A mix of youth and experience, they argued, would strike the “right balance” in governance and strengthen the party’s prospects in 2028.The letter comes amid an ongoing leadership tussle within the state Congress, with Sivakumar reiterating his claim to the top post, reportedly based on an understanding with the party high command after the 2023 victory. At that time, veteran leader Siddaramaiah was selected to lead the government for his second term, while Sivakumar was made his deputy and assured the post of chief minister for the latter half of the five-year term.The Karnataka Congress government completed its first two-and-a-half years in November 2025.(with PTI input)
