BENGALURU: Ten newly minted MLAs, who helped BJP bring down the Congress-JD (S) coalition government and form its own in July last year, took oath as cabinet ministers at a simple ceremony in Raj Bhavan on Thursday.
Hours after duly rewarding the eight defectors from the Congress and two from JD(S), chief minister BS Yediyurappa is faced with the challenge of distributing key portfolios.
After the swearing-in, Yediyurappa said portfolios will be allocated to the new ministers in a day or two, but hinted at the fraught exercise saying he has to meet the central party leadership before making an announcement in this regard.
Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers in presence of the chief minister and other senior BJP functionaries.
In hours, lobbying for berths began. Sources said Ramesh Jarkiholi, the rebellion spearhead, has demanded the water resources portfolio. Two Bengaluru ministers — ST Somashekhar and Byrathi Basavaraj — are eyeing Bengaluru development and urban development departments, respectively. Chikkaballapur MLA K Sudhakar is looking to walk away with the medical education portfolio, a source said.
Party loyalists, including Umesh Katti, Aravind Limbavali and CP Yogeshwar, who have been patiently waiting for a cabinet call-up, have reportedly told the CM to spare some key portfolios for the next expansion expected in June or July.
Dalit, ST mins may land plum berths
The CM, before announcing the portfolios, has to bear in mind the caste and regional matrices since Lingayats and Vokkaligas have landed the maximum berths. Sources said he is likely to hand some big portfolios to ministers from Dalit, ST and OBC communities, the vote-base troika that propelled BJP to win the highest number of seats in the 2018 polls.
Thursday’s expansion has caused resentment among MLAs from Kalyana Karnataka, coastal and central Karnataka regions. A group of legislators led by Shorpur MLA Narasimha Nayak (Raju Gouda) has been seeking visible representation to address the issues of regional imbalance. “I hope the CM will fulfill the promise made to us in the next expansion,” said Gouda, who is opposed to the induction of Yogeshwar.
Hours after duly rewarding the eight defectors from the Congress and two from JD(S), chief minister BS Yediyurappa is faced with the challenge of distributing key portfolios.
After the swearing-in, Yediyurappa said portfolios will be allocated to the new ministers in a day or two, but hinted at the fraught exercise saying he has to meet the central party leadership before making an announcement in this regard.
Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new ministers in presence of the chief minister and other senior BJP functionaries.
In hours, lobbying for berths began. Sources said Ramesh Jarkiholi, the rebellion spearhead, has demanded the water resources portfolio. Two Bengaluru ministers — ST Somashekhar and Byrathi Basavaraj — are eyeing Bengaluru development and urban development departments, respectively. Chikkaballapur MLA K Sudhakar is looking to walk away with the medical education portfolio, a source said.
Party loyalists, including Umesh Katti, Aravind Limbavali and CP Yogeshwar, who have been patiently waiting for a cabinet call-up, have reportedly told the CM to spare some key portfolios for the next expansion expected in June or July.
Dalit, ST mins may land plum berths
The CM, before announcing the portfolios, has to bear in mind the caste and regional matrices since Lingayats and Vokkaligas have landed the maximum berths. Sources said he is likely to hand some big portfolios to ministers from Dalit, ST and OBC communities, the vote-base troika that propelled BJP to win the highest number of seats in the 2018 polls.
Thursday’s expansion has caused resentment among MLAs from Kalyana Karnataka, coastal and central Karnataka regions. A group of legislators led by Shorpur MLA Narasimha Nayak (Raju Gouda) has been seeking visible representation to address the issues of regional imbalance. “I hope the CM will fulfill the promise made to us in the next expansion,” said Gouda, who is opposed to the induction of Yogeshwar.
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