Bengaluru: Chamarajpet MLA and senior Congress leader Zameer Ahmed Khan has been left out of Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s first cabinet, amid allegations of anti-party activities during the recent Davangere South bypoll and claims of indirect support to an SDPI candidate.

Zameer, widely regarded as one of the Congress party’s prominent Muslim faces in Karnataka, was among the first ministers inducted when the Congress formed the government under Siddaramaiah three years ago. His exclusion from the initial list of ministers in the Shivakumar-led government has triggered political speculation.

According to party sources, the decision is linked to allegations that surfaced during the Davangere South Assembly bypoll last month. A section of Congress leaders had accused Zameer of working against the party’s interests and allegedly helping the SDPI candidate after the party denied a Congress ticket to a Muslim aspirant. While the Congress retained the seat with a margin of around 5,000 votes, the SDPI candidate secured nearly 19,000 votes, raising concerns within the party.

Zameer has consistently denied the allegations. On Monday, an audio clip purportedly featuring him discussing strategies against the Congress during the bypoll went viral on social media. He dismissed the recording as “fake” and claimed it was circulated to damage his prospects of securing a cabinet berth.

On Tuesday, former MP DK Suresh, brother of Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, visited Zameer and held discussions with him. Political observers believe the meeting was aimed at conveying the party leadership’s decision that Zameer would have to wait for a future cabinet expansion.

For now, the new cabinet has only one Muslim representative — UT Khader, who previously served as Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly and has now been inducted as a minister.

Zameer joined the Congress in 2018 after leaving the JD(S), from which he was expelled in 2016 over allegations of cross-voting in a Rajya Sabha election. Despite strained relations with JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, he later served as a minister in the JD(S)-Congress coalition government and went on to become a close associate of Siddaramaiah.

The Congress leadership had also initiated disciplinary action against MLCs Abdul Jabbar and Naseer Ahmed over allegations of anti-party activities during the bypoll campaign.

While Zameer has missed out on a cabinet position in the first round, party insiders indicate that his induction cannot be ruled out in a future expansion, possibly after the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for June 18.