Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Karnataka Congress MLA Basavaraj Rayareddy on Saturday said the government was holding discussions on a proposal to bring in five more deputy chief ministers to the cabinet headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, with some ministers already coming out in favour of it.
As of now, CM Siddramaiah has only one deputy in DK Shivakumar. However, Rayareddy said the government was seriously considering bringing in more ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Karnataka is the sixth-largest state in the country, in terms of its geographic or territorial expanse, after Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat.
Speaking to media on Saturday, the Congress MLA said Home Minister G Parameshwara, along with fellow cabinet colleague MB Patil and others have “lent their weight” to the proposal.
He added that the proposal of having additional chief ministers was mooted by state Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna.
“At least six more deputy CMs should be appointed in Karnataka. Our government is holding discussions on a proposal to bring in a few more deputy CMs, considering the parliamentary elections next year,” Rayareddy told media on Saturday.
“The proposal has already received support from several senior members of the cabinet, including G Parameshwara and MB Patil. I, too, agree with Rajanna’s proposal that the government needs to bring in more deputy chief ministers to ensure better governance and administration,” the MLA added.
“There should be at least six deputy CMs for a state like Karnataka,” the Congress MLA said, adding that Andhra Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy also has five deputies.
“Karnataka is a big state, They (govt) can create another five posts (for deputy CMs). If the proposal is accepted, the number of deputy CMs in the state, including DK Shivakumar, will come to six,” he added.