Mandya/Bengaluru, 12 April 

As a delegation of senior Karnataka Congress MLAs travelled to New Delhi on Sunday to lobby the party high command, with their demand for a cabinet reshuffle and opportunities for fresh faces in the ministry, first-time MLAs also renewed their demand for representation.

First time Congress MLAs have intensified their push for representation, requesting that at least five of them be made Ministers during the cabinet rejig.

Several senior legislators with over three terms under their belts boarded a flight to Delhi on Sunday. They plan to meet the Congress high command with a demand that at least 20 of the approximately 40 senior legislators be considered during the reshuffle.

The senior MLAs, including TB Jayachandra, the special representative of the Government of Karnataka in New Delhi, and Assembly Chief Whip Ashok Pattan are likely to meet AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretaries KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala. They said efforts were also made to meet Rahul Gandhi.

"Everyone has the desire to become a Minister. I have seen in the media that seniors - who have won three, four and five times - are going to Delhi to seek Minister posts. I wish them well, hoping they secure ministerial posts and an opportunity to serve the state. The reshuffle is left to the high command and the CM," said first-time MLA Ravikumar Gowda (Ravi Ganiga) from Mandya.

Speaking to reporters in Mandya, he asserted that the first-time MLAs' stance that they too should get an opportunity remained unchanged. Thirty-eight of them recently shot off a letter to the leadership requesting that at least five of them be given a ministerial post.

"We will meet soon and decide on the next course of action. We have already met the party state President once, we had a plan to meet the Chief Minister during the legislature session, but it was not possible. We will meet the Chief Minister and see what else can be done," he added.

Some first and second-time legislators had earlier also pressed for a cabinet reshuffle and an opportunity in the cabinet. They had even held separate dinner meetings to decide on their strategy.

Asked whether some sitting Ministers should be replaced, Gowda said it is better to replace some of them with new faces.

"Some Ministers are not available, work is not happening. Some are not available even on phones..." he said, adding that it is left to the discretion of the CM and the high command.

Reiterating that 38 first-time MLAs are united and their demand remains that at least five of them should be made Ministers during the rejig, Gowda said there is nothing wrong in asking.

To a question about whether they will travel to Delhi like some senior MLAs, to meet the party leadership, he replied, "We will sit and discuss, I cannot announce unilaterally."

Before leaving for Delhi, Jayachandra told reporters at the airport that the senior MLAs are voluntarily travelling to Delhi. "While some are traveling on Sunday, the rest will go on Monday morning."

"Current Ministers in the cabinet have already spent about three years in office, they have been given an opportunity, and we will request that now the opportunity be given to senior MLAs. We will place our demand before AICC chief Kharge," he said.

Asked how many of them are going to Delhi, he said 40 senior MLAs were part of the decision to go to Delhi, and there are expectations that everyone will come.

Ashok Pattan said they plan to stay put in Delhi for 3-4 days and seek Rahul Gandhi's appointment, meet Kharge and other leaders.

Noting that the CM and Deputy CM are aware of their Delhi trip, he said, "Our agenda is only an immediate reshuffle. No discussion on leadership issue... Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar may also meet high command on reshuffle soon."

The demand for a cabinet reshuffle has come to the fore amid the ongoing power tussle within the ruling party over the CM post.

The leadership tussle within the ruling party has intensified amid speculation about a possible change of chief minister after the Congress government completed the halfway mark of its five-year term on 20 November, 2025.

The speculation has been fuelled by the reported "power-sharing" arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar at the time of government formation in 2023.

According to party sources, while Siddaramaiah favors a cabinet reshuffle, Shivakumar wants the party to first decide on the leadership change.

According to several party insiders, if theCongress high command approves the cabinet reshuffle, it would signal that the incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will complete the full five-year term, which will scuttle the chances of Shivakumar from occupying the coveted post.

Karnataka has a sanctioned strength of 34 ministers, including the chief minister.

Two cabinet berths are currently vacant following the resignation of B Nagendra over allegations of embezzlement at the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation, and the sacking of KN Rajanna on the instructions of the party high command.