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Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai during an event in Bengaluru. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak. File)Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will make an emergency trip to New Delhi on Friday afternoon after being summoned by the BJP central leadership. Bommai revised his programme for Friday by scheduling a sudden visit to New Delhi at 2.55 pm on a regular flight. The Karnataka CM’s return to Bengaluru has been left open.
BJP sources said the visit to Delhi was scheduled abruptly, and that a summons had been issued on Thursday by the party. Sources suggested some “drastic measures” may be in the offing.
The official purpose of the visit, as per the tour plan for Bommai, is to meet Union ministers.
Bommai has made as many as eight visits to Delhi since he became CM in July 2021. He has been dependent on clearances from the central leadership for taking major decisions during his tenure.
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Bommai has been waiting for clearance from the central leadership for several months to carry out a cabinet expansion or reshuffle.
The BJP cabinet in Karnataka has five vacancies at present, against a full quota of 34 ministers. There has also been speculation of a full makeover of the cabinet ahead of the 2023 state elections.
The call for a visit to Delhi has come amid a proposal for Bommai to travel to Davos to attend a World Economic Forum meeting from May 22.
Bommai’s call to Delhi also comes at a time when the BJP is set to finalise candidates for polls to seven seats in the legislative council and three seats in the Rajya Sabha, scheduled in June. The BJP can win four seats in the council and two seats in the Rajya Sabha with the support of its existing 121 MLAs in the state assembly.
Among the names proposed for the council is that of former CM B S Yediyurappa’s son B Y Vijayendra and former deputy CM Laxman Savadi. The candidature of Vijayendra was proposed despite the BJP’s recent stand against dynastic politics.
Among the names likely to be cleared for the Rajya Sabha is that of the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
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