Ahead of the Monsoon Session of the legislature, which is expected to be stormy, the Congress Ministers met to discuss strategies to counter the Opposition’s anticipated onslaught. The session will be the first for D.K. Shivakumar as the Chief Minister, and will also be the first session for eight first-time Ministers, who are likely to be under pressure owing to the delay in allocation of the portfolios.

On Wednesday, Ministers were asked to be present in the Houses to respond to the Opposition. “We were asked to work as a team and counter the Opposition. The new Ministers are likely to be under prepared owing to a lack of time. If one Minister is being attacked, the rest will come to his rescue. Discussions were held to strategise the government’s response to various issues expected to be raised by the Opposition,” said a senior Minister.

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular), which have sought resignation of Minister B. Nagendra for allegedly violating court orders, are expected to up the ante on the floor of the House while the circumstances leading to the resignation of former Chairman of Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti, to which the BJP has taken exception to, is also likely to figure.

Besides, the issue of land acquisition for the Bidadi Township Project, the government’s handling of drought and the Cauvery river water sharing with Tamil Nadu is expected to be in focus.

“Response to these issues will be shared with the Ministers to effectively counter the Opposition’s allegations. The Chief Minister’s Office will be coordinating these responses,” said another source.

“House business will commence properly from Monday. By then, the new Ministers have been asked to come prepared using the time to discuss with officials. A roster on attendance of the Ministers in both Houses is likely to be charted out, and Ministers have been asked to adhere to the roster,” sources said.

On Cabinet portfolio allocation, sources said that most of the Ministers are happy with what they have got, and the women representation will be given shortly.