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A 'bandh' has been called on Wednesday by the supporters of Congress MLA SN Subbareddy in three taluks of Chikkaballapur district to protest his exclusion from the newly expanded Karnataka cabinet.
Subbareddy is the Congress MLA from Bagepalli assembly constituency. Congress workers and Subbareddy's supporters have taken to the streets in Bagepalli, Gudibande and Chelur taluks, urging traders to voluntarily shut their shops. Commercial activities were affected in several places due to the 'bandh'. The protesters said that Subbareddy, a senior leader and elected representative of the constituency, deserved a place in the cabinet. They urged the Congress high command and the state leadership to reconsider the decision and induct him into the cabinet. In view of the bandh, tight police security has been deployed across the three taluks, with precautionary measures taken to prevent any untoward incidents. The district administration and the police are closely monitoring the situation and the developments related to the bandh. Earlier on Tuesday, Congress leader Gayathri Shanthegowda reacted with restraint after her name was reportedly included in the initial list for the Karnataka cabinet expansion but removed in a revised list released minutes later. "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," Shanthegowda told ANI. Her name was dropped during the finalisation of the cabinet under the DK Shivakumar government. Shanthegowda was notably the only woman leader whose name appeared in the first list of prospective ministers. However, in a swift turn of events, a second list was released just minutes later, in which her name was absent. 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 left out of the expanded cabinet. Many of them have previously served as ministers in Congress governments and were considered strong contenders for cabinet positions. Their exclusion has triggered discussions within the party over the balance between seniority, regional representation and community considerations in the allocation of portfolios. The expansion of the Karnataka cabinet has triggered discontent among several senior Congress leaders who were left out. (ANI)
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