M.B. Patil: No confusion over Cabinet expansion and high command will resolve all issues
There is no confusion within the Congress over the proposed expansion of the State Cabinet and the party high command would resolve all issues, Minister
There is no confusion within the Congress over the proposed expansion of the State Cabinet and the party high command would resolve all issues, Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries M.B. Patil said in Ballari on Saturday. Responding to media query on whether Sandu MLA E. Annapurna would be inducted to the State Cabinet, Mr. Patil said the party high command would decide. “It is natural for some differences to arise within a political party, just as there could be minor differences within a family. With the Cabinet having limited berths, the leadership has to accommodate various aspirations. Everyone has the ability to become a Minister, and it is natural for everyone to aspire for a ministerial position. There is nothing wrong with that.
Therefore, some pressure is bound to arise,” he said. He said the leadership would have to consider several factors, including regional and caste equations, while maintaining an overall balance in the Cabinet. Women likely to get representation Patil said women would certainly be given representation in the Cabinet. He said Ms. Annapurna was capable of handling ministerial responsibilities, but the decision on whether she would be inducted rested with the party high command. He also referred to the contribution of Ballari MP E. Tukaram, saying there would be nothing wrong if his wife was given a ministerial berth. However, he made it clear that the final decision on all such matters rested with the high command. “I am not the high command. The party will take all the decisions.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge is one of our own and he will handle the party’s affairs effectively. I am not even as old as his political experience,” Mr. Patil said. Meanwhile, Mr. Tukaram said he remained a disciplined soldier of the Congress and would abide by every decision of the party and its high command. ‘I remain hopeful about Annapurna’ Speaking to reporters separately, Mr. Tukaram said, “I am a disciplined soldier of the Congress. Congress is in my blood. I have always followed the directions of the party and the high command without deviation.” He said the high command had told him to leave his political future to the party leadership and that he had accordingly remained committed to its decisions. Tukaram recalled that he resigned as MLA in 2024 to contest the Lok Sabha election and subsequently won the election from Ballari.
He said that during the subsequent Assembly by-election, he himself had suggested that the Congress should give the ticket to any suitable candidate. “There is talk that my wife Ms. Annapurna lost the ministerial opportunity at the last moment. But the opportunity has not been lost. I am confident that she will get another opportunity. I will continue to make efforts for her ministerial position till the end and I believe she will get it,” Mr. Tukaram said. He also expressed confidence that the Congress would return to power in the State in 2028 and at the Centre in 2029. “Congress will win,” he said.
The BriefWire