Bangalore: Caste equations weigh heavily on how many Congress and Janata Dal Secular legislators will eventually find a place in the cabinet headed by Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
Cabinet formation has become that much more arduous because the alliance was struck post-poll within hours after it became clear that the BJP would fall short of the majority mark.
The partners have agreed that the Congress would get 22 slots and the JDS 12 in the 34-member cabinet in the works.
Congress sources confirmed that the very reason why D.K. Shivakumar, credited with keeping the flock of 78 newly elected MLAs together in the face of alleged poaching attempts by the BJP, was not considered for the post of deputy chief minister was because he is a Vokkaliga, the caste to which chief minister Kumaraswamy belongs.
"The two top posts going to one community would have created problems as the Lingayats, Dalits and the OBCs cannot be ignored," said a Congress office-bearer.
He said the council of ministers would represent all the major castes and faiths. "The Lingayat community has already demanded 11 cabinet posts for its members from both the Congress and the JDS. That means they would get at least six or seven berths," the Congress functionary said.
Another dilemma is to find a berth for Shivakumar, whose crisis-management skills was key to the Congress-JDS alliance forming the government.
"Nobody has any doubt about Shivakumar's massive contribution. But the problem is that he wants to be the president (of the Karnataka Congress) and also a cabinet minister. The party will benefit if he becomes the fulltime president till the 2019 (Lok Sabha) elections," the Congress office-bearer said.
Lobbying for berths began since it became clear that the coalition was taking shape. A JDS source said deputy chief minister G. Parameshwara of the Congress wanted the home portfolio that he had held briefly in the previous government.
"We have no problem in giving Parameshwara charge of the home ministry provided the Congress high command agrees," the JDS source said.
But Parameshwara denied having made any demands. "I have not asked for any portfolio in particular, least of all home. It's entirely up to my party high command to decide who gets what," he told reporters on Saturday before heading to Delhi for a meeting with party president Rahul Gandhi.
Shivakumar had said soon after the trust vote on Friday that he would leave everything to the high command. "I am an obedient party worker who is willing to go by what my leadership tells me," he said.
Political analyst Mahadev Prakash said the cabinet formation would be a balancing act in which the alliance partners cannot afford to antagonise any of the major communities. "Let's admit caste is a major factor in Karnataka politics. That's why every government has to ensure they are well-represented," he said.
While Siddaramaiah is not in the cabinet race, sources said he wouldn't mind if his son Yathindra is accommodated.
"I feel similar issues are there in the JDS too. But things will be easier to solve (in the JDS) because they need to pick 11 ministers from 36 MLAs (Kumaraswamy having already taken oath as chief minister), and the party is based in Bangalore," Prakash said.
He didn't see any chance of either partner rocking the boat at this stage.
"The whole idea is to present this as a working model of secular and democratic parties coming together. So I think they will be very careful to keep things calm at least till the Lok Sabha elections," Prakash said, citing the efforts to form a grand alliance to take on the BJP.
