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Internal rumbling has erupted within Bhartiya Janata Party in Karnataka over Cabinet expansion.
As Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa announced that his Cabinet will be expanded on Thursday, with the induction of 13 members, it has not gone down well with the party’s senior members and ministerial aspirants.
Chief minister’s office has indicated that party Central leaders have given green signal to induct only 10 of the 11 (rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs, who won in the recent by-elections and three senior members from within the party.
As news of Mahesh Kumathalli being dropped spread, Kumathalli, reacted by reminding the Chief Minister that he had publicly assured him twice of being made a minister, “I sacrificed my MLA post trusting Yediyurappa. Now he is asking me to sacrifice again. I am ready to do whatever job he assigns me, including sweeping the floor of the BJP office.”
While BJP’s senior members opined that to make 10 MLAs from among the new entrants to the party as ministers, it has reduced the opportunity for loyal party workers.
Among the BJP’s senior members names of Umesh Katti (Belagavi) and Aravind Limbavali (Bengaluru city) and CP Yogeshwar (Bengaluru rural) are doing the rounds.
But what has really angered senior loyal party workers is that the selection of CP Yogeshwar for minister post. They said how can one make a man who has lost in election and what is the yardstick the party is using to make a person as a minister.
The loyal workers have no objections for other two BJP’s senior leaders.
Party sources say Yogeshwar is being selected for his role in the recent agitation over the RSS-led campaign on Kapalabetta in Kanakapura over the installation of Christ statute. Also BJP is keen on a Vokkaliga face in Ramanagaram district to take on HD Kumaraswamy and DK Shivakumar.
Induction of 10 of the 11 new entrants too has not gone down well among the rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs who helped BJP to come to power.
Rumbling among the loyal party workers are led by other ministerial aspirants such as Murugesh Nirani, Chitradurga MLA GH Thippa Reddy, Nehru Olekar, SA Ramdas, S Angara, MP Kumaraswamy, Raju Gowda, Gulihatti Shekar, and Sunil Kumar are among the others.
It is said a few of these ministerial aspirants have reportedly held a meeting and decided to oppose the choice of the Chief Minister.
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