After a series of late-night meetings, the Congress party has persuaded Ramalinga Reddy to withdraw his resignation and continue as a minister in the Karnataka cabinet.
Ramalinga Reddy, an eight-time legislator, had sent his resignation to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar via WhatsApp on Friday after being denied the Bengaluru Development portfolio. He was instead allocated the Water Resources Department. Meetings took place late on Friday night at a private hotel in Jayanagar, lasting nearly two and a half hours, followed by further discussions on Saturday with Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and KPCC president B.K. Hariprasad. The party leadership rejected the resignation. Surjewala told reporters that Reddy’s experience made him an asset and that he would continue as a minister. Reddy confirmed the party had addressed his concerns and that he would respect the decision to stay in the cabinet. K.H. Muniyappa was also convinced to accept his portfolio.