02:29
‘If Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah don’t fight till 2024, they deserve Nobel peace prize’: TN BJP chief
AICC general secretary and six-time MLA Dinesh Gundu Raowas among those who made no secret of their frustration, saying he had expected the first list to have his name. “In 2019, I resigned as PCC president, owning moral responsibility for the defection of 15 MLAs. It wasn’t that I was incapable of carrying out my duties; it was because the defections happened under my watch. I am certain that the high command will remember my contributions.” He said he was given to understand that only eight names for the cabinet could be finalised in the small window between deciding who would be CM and Saturday’s swearing-in.
Like him, Bhadravathi MLA BK Sangameshwar sought “recognition” for his contributions to the party. “I am a four-time MLA and, after ex-Speaker Kagodu Thimappa, hold the record of being elected the most number of times from Shivamogga. I urge Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and the party leadership to recognise me,” he said.
Sangameshwar sought to “remind” the party leadership that he was among the first legislators in 2008 and 2018 to be allegedly lured by BJP but he didn’t budge.
Shivakumar remained tight-lipped on who would be inducted or when the cabinet would be expanded. “It will happen soon,” he said. He said there was “no point” in people queuing up in front of his and Siddaramaiah’s homes seeking cabinet berths.
