Lingayats dominate BS Yediyurappa’s ministry

Bengaluru: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s ministry has one-third Lingayats, Karnataka’s largest community to which he belongs, but the seven districts dominated by Lingayats has just two ministers. There are seven ministers from the Vokkaliga community and four from Kuruba.

Bengaluru has nine ministers, Belagavi has five. Eight districts closer to Maharashtra has a dozen members. Hassan, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Kolar, Davanagere, Kodagu, Bengaluru Rural, Kalaburgi, Yadagir, Koppala, Raichur, Vijayapura, Chikkamagaluru and Ballari are without a minister.

Political analysts say caste-regional imbalance was expected after BJP formed the government with defectors. Thanks to ‘Operation Lotus’, Bengaluru has five turncoat MLAs and four are ministers. “Never in the political history of Karnataka has regional and caste imbalance so pronounced. It looks more like an upper-caste dominated Cabinet,” said political analyst S Mahadeva Prakash. Dominant caste groups have eaten into share of SC/STs and minorities who usually get 8-10 berths.