After marathon talks, Congress convinces Ramalinga Reddy to stay in the Karnataka cabinet

Ramalinga Reddy with Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar after being sworn in as a minister during the swearing-in ceremony of the new Karnataka government at the Lok Bhavan in Bengaluru on June 3, 2026. File | Photo credit: ANI

A day after senior Congress leader and eight-time MLA Ramalinga Reddy resigned from the Karnataka cabinet over dissatisfaction with the portfolio allotted to him, the Congress leadership on Saturday (June 6, 2026) rejected his resignation and convinced him to continue as a minister.

The development came after a series of meetings attended by Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala and KPCC president BK Hariprasad.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr Reddy said the party leadership had assured him that the concerns he had raised would be addressed in due course and made it clear that they wanted him to remain in the government.

“After the meetings, all the leaders gave me hope. The Chief Minister called me three times and met me yesterday. Mr. Surjewala met and spoke to me. They all said that they wanted me to continue as part of the Cabinet and that accepting my resignation was out of the question,” Mr. Reddy said.

He said the Chief Minister and senior Congress leaders had asked him to stay in the government and assured him that the issues raised by him would be looked into in due course.

“They have rejected my resignation and I will respect the party’s decision. They have asked me to continue in government and I will,” Mr Reddy said.

Late on Friday evening (June 5, 2026), Mr. Shivakumar held a nearly two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Mr. Reddy at a private hotel in Jayanagar in an effort to resolve the issue. The negotiations continued until Saturday morning (June 6).

Later in the day, further rounds of talks were held with Mr Surjewala and Mr Hariprasad, after which the Congress leadership decided to reject Mr Reddy’s resignation, ending uncertainty over his future in the Cabinet.

Published – June 6, 2026 7:36 PM IST