BENGALURU, Feb. 24 -- Internal strains within the state Congress have deepened after dozens of newly elected legislators formally asked the party's central and state leadership to induct them into the council of ministers.

In a letter sent to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, 38 legislators serving their first term said they had not been given any place in the 34 member council formed after the party's 2023 election victory.

The legislators said their electoral success reflected voter support for a generational shift within the party. They wrote that their election was "a clear mandate from the people for emergence ...