Mandya/Bengaluru: As a delegation of senior Karnataka Congress MLAs travelled to New Delhi on Sunday to lobby the party high command for a cabinet reshuffle and opportunities for fresh faces in the ministry, first-time MLAs also renewed their demand for representation.

For the first time, Congress MLAs have intensified their push for representation, requesting that at least five of them be made ministers during the cabinet rejig.

Several senior legislators with over three terms under their belts boarded a flight to Delhi on Sunday. They plan to meet the party high command with a demand that at least 20 of the approximately 40 senior legislators be considered during the reshuffle.

The senior MLAs, including T B Jayachandra, the special representative of the Government of Karnataka in New Delhi, and Assembly Chief Whip Ashok Pattan-- are likely to meet AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala. They said efforts were also made to meet Rahul Gandhi.

"Everyone has the desire to become a minister. I have seen in the media that seniors -- who have won three, four and five times -- are going to Delhi to seek ministerial posts. I wish them well, hoping they secure ministerial posts and an opportunity to serve the state. The reshuffle is left to the high command and the CM," said first-time MLA Ravikumar Gowda (Ravi Ganiga) from Mandya.

Speaking to reporters in Mandya, he said the first-time MLAs' stance-that they too should get an opportunity-remained unchanged. Thirty-eight of them recently shot off a letter to the leadership requesting that at least five of them be given a ministerial post.

"We will meet soon and decide on the next course of action. We have already met the party state President once, we had a plan to meet the Chief Minister during the legislature session, but it was not possible. We will meet the Chief Minister and see what else can be done," he added.

Some first and second-time legislators have also pressed for a cabinet reshuffle and an opportunity in the cabinet. They had even held separate dinner meetings to decide on their strategy.