Dissent in Karnataka Congress; Raichur MLA Daddal resigns as Corporation Chairman, V Patil withdraws resignation

The political churn within the Karnataka Congress over the recent Cabinet expansion continued on Wednesday, with Raichur Rural MLA Basanagouda Daddal resigning as Chairman of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, while Congress MLA Yashwanthrayagoud V Patil withdrew the resignation he had submitted a day earlier over being denied a ministerial berth.

The political churn within the Karnataka Congress over the recent Cabinet expansion continued on Wednesday, with Raichur Rural MLA Basanagouda Daddal resigning as Chairman of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, while Congress MLA Yashwanthrayagoud V Patil withdrew the resignation he had submitted a day earlier over being denied a ministerial berth. Daddal submitted his resignation to Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, stating that he was voluntarily stepping down as Chairman of the Corporation.

In his resignation letter, Daddal said that he was resigning from the post voluntarily and requested the Chief Minister to accept his resignation with immediate effect. Patil, who had resigned on Tuesday expressing dissatisfaction over being left out of the Cabinet, later withdrew his resignation.

The developments come amid discontent within the ruling Congress after the Cabinet expansion, which saw several senior leaders miss out on ministerial positions. Earlier on Tuesday, Congress leader Gayathri Shanthegowda reacted cautiously after her name was reportedly included in the initial list of ministers for the Cabinet expansion but removed in a revised list issued minutes later.

Speaking to ANI, Shanthegowda reiterated her loyalty to the party and said she would abide by its decision. "I'm a loyal party worker. I don't want to react now; I've already said I'm an honest party worker. I came from the grassroots level, and I will follow whatever the party says," she said. Her name was reportedly the only one of a woman leader included in the first list of prospective ministers before it was dropped in the revised list released shortly afterwards.

When asked about the last-minute inclusion and removal of her name, Shanthegowda declined to elaborate further. "Further, I don't want to speak anything on this," she said. Several senior Congress leaders, including HK Patil, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Shivanand Patil, RB Thimmapur, RV Deshpande, K Venkatesh, Krishnappa, Tanveer Sait, Appaji Nadagouda and HC Mahadevappa, were also left out of the expanded ministry.

Many of them have previously served as ministers in Congress governments and were considered strong contenders for Cabinet berths. Their exclusion has sparked discussions within the party over seniority, regional representation and community balance in the allocation of portfolios. The Cabinet expansion took place on August 3 after Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot approved the new Council of Ministers. The oath-taking ceremony was held at Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru, taking the strength of the DK Shivakumar-led ministry to its full sanctioned limit of 34, including the Chief Minister. (ANI)