Congress’s Ramalinga Reddy quits Shivakumar cabinet. Why Bengaluru ministry is so important

The newly formed 13-member cabinet of Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has been hit by turbulence with Ramalinga Reddy (72), a veteran eight-time Congress MLA from Bengaluru, resigning after being denied the Bengaluru development portfolio, which has been given to a younger MLA.

Rumours had been swirling since Thursday – a day after the new Chief Minister and his 13-member cabinet were sworn in – that Reddy was unhappy. On Friday morning, Reddy announced that he had sent his resignation to the Chief Minister after being named the Water Resources and Irrigation Minister.

“I am upset (over the portfolio). I cannot work against my conscience and have given my resignation. I will remain in the Congress and will remain an MLA,” he announced.

The resignation drama has unfolded on a day when Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi are in Bengaluru for the filing of Kharge’s nomination for the Rajya Sabha poll.

Shivakumar said he would “sort it out” and added that “discipline is important”. “He is not from a rural area. He has been given the portfolio of irrigation. He feels that he should work for the welfare of the urban sector. I will speak to him. He is a great friend and an important leader. I will sort it out. Discipline is important,” he said.

The drama is seen as a part of the tussle between the two rival camps in the Congress, led by Chief Minister Shivakumar and his predecessor, Siddaramaiah, for resources in the government.

Not the first time

This is the second time Reddy has been unhappy with his portfolio. He had expressed a similar desire to quit the cabinet in 2023, soon after the Congress came to power with Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister. Reddy was initially promised the Bengaluru city portfolio but was later given the Transport and Muzrai ministry.

At the time, then Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress chief Shivakumar convinced him that he would be given the Bengaluru portfolio when Shivakumar became the Chief Minister.

To mollify Reddy in 2023, Shivakumar also appointed him as the in-charge minister for the Bengaluru South (Ramanagara) district, Shivakumar’s home district. Shivakumar was then the Bengaluru development minister.

‘Never asked for minister post’

“I have been in politics since 1973 as a student leader in the Government Science College. I have been in Congress for 53 years. The party has given me a lot of positions. I have not asked anyone to make me a minister or to give me a portfolio over the years that I have been in politics. They have done it on their own,” Reddy told the media on Friday.

“In 2023, when Siddaramaiah became the Chief Minister, I did not ask to be made a minister. He called me and told me of my appointment. I was told that I would be given the Bangalore portfolio by Byrathi Suresh (an MLA and close associate of Siddaramaiah). When the portfolios were announced, I was entrusted with the transport ministry,” he added.

“I inquired why this had happened. They told me it had been changed for various reasons. Later, I said that I would not like to be in the cabinet. However, the current Chief Minister Shivakumar and his brother D K Suresh came to my house and said that after two and a half years, when Shivakumar becomes the Chief Minister, the portfolio would be handed over to me,” he said.

Recently, Shivakumar repeated his assurance, Reddy claimed. “I had not asked for the Bengaluru ministry but was voluntarily offered and now they have given me the irrigation minister and have given Bengaluru development to someone else,” he said.

Why Bengaluru development portfolio is important

The Bengaluru development portfolio is considered highly lucrative and powerful owing to the huge funds available for the city’s development. A powerful politician-contractor lobby controls the city’s affairs, and several long-term Bengaluru MLAs have entrenched interests in the city’s contracts, ranging from garbage disposal to the asphalting of roads.

When Shivakumar was the minister in charge of Bengaluru development from 2023 to 2026, a Rs 40,000-crore solid waste management contract, spread over 30 years, was finalised. This drew criticism from opposition leaders, including the BJP’s central minister Shobha Karandlaje.

The politician-contractor nexus in Bengaluru is considered a key factor in the city’s poll outcomes. With the newly created Greater Bengaluru Authority set to hold polls for the city councils in the next two years – after a lapse of over five years – city satraps like Reddy are considered key to the Congress winning in many areas.

Younger MLA edged out Reddy

The Congress has now appointed Bengaluru MLA and former revenue minister Krishna Byre Gowda, 54, as the Bengaluru development minister. Krishna Byre Gowda is considered a young, dynamic leader and a threat to entrenched forces.

“The onus of developing Bengaluru lies not only with the government but also with the people in the city,” Krishna Byre Gowda said after being made the city’s development minister. He refused to be drawn into the controversy over Reddy’s demand for the Bengaluru portfolio.

Krishna Byre Gowda, who brought many changes to the revenue ministry through the use of technology, is considered close to the Congress high command and seen as likely to bring fresh thinking to resolve Bengaluru’s infrastructure problems, as opposed to entrenched forces that control the city. He is viewed as a potential future Chief Minister, though he lacks a mass base.

While Reddy is an MLA from the BTM Layout assembly constituency in south Bengaluru, Krishna Byre Gowda is an MLA from the Byatarayanapura seat in north Bengaluru.

How will Congress react

The Congress party is now expected to attempt to mollify Ramalinga Reddy, as it did in 2023.

In fact, in 2023, there were rumours that Priyank Kharge and Industries Minister MB Patil were at loggerheads over the Information Technology and Biotechnology ministry. The then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah initially held the Information Technology ministry to defuse the controversy and later handed it to Priyank Kharge.

Who got what in new cabinet

On Thursday night, the Congress government announced portfolios for 14 new ministers. Chief Minister Shivakumar now holds Finance, Cabinet Affairs, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Intelligence, and other unallocated portfolios.

Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara is in charge of Revenue, Youth Empowerment and Sports.

Priyank Kharge has been appointed the state Home Minister and has retained his Information Technology/Biotechnology portfolio. The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, which was under Kharge during Siddaramaiah’s tenure, will now be handled by Eshwar Khandre, the former forest minister.

Senior legislator KH Muniyappa retained the Food and Civil Supplies portfolio, MB Patil the Industries and Infrastructure Development portfolio, K J George the energy ministry, Satish Jarkiholi the Public Works Department, and Sharan Prakash Patil the medical education and skill development portfolio.

Other ministers are UT Khader for Health and Family Welfare and Byrati Suresh for Transport. Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah, the son of Siddaramaiah, is now the Urban Development minister for urban areas outside Bengaluru.