BENGALURU: Not wanting to waste any time in their bid to find a place Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s cabinet, ministerial aspirants are pulling out all stops and are lobbying hard. They, however, may have to wait for about a month as the ministry expansion is likely to happen only after January 15.
Sources in the BJP who are in the know of the developments at the central leadership level said the ministry expansion is likely only after Sankranti festival on January 15. Many consider ‘Shoonya masa’ (December 17 to January 14) as inauspicious for taking up any important task. Sources in Bengaluru too expressed similar views, though, officially, neither the party nor the CM have given any date for the ministry expansion.
The ‘Shoonya masa’, coupled with other political exigencies, has made the wait longer for the rebel Congress-JDS leaders-turned-BJP legislators. But the CM is said to have already secured the central leadership’s nod for their induction into his ministry. Yediyurappa is likely to meet BJP national president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah later this month and a formal announcement is expected after that.
Yediyurappa had, on several occasions, reiterated that the legislators who had supported the formation of the BJP government in the state will be inducted into the ministry. The challenge, however, is accommodating many senior BJP leaders, who too are lobbying hard and have even met the CM several times over the last few days to present their case.
Well aware of the challenges, the party’s central leadership is keen on avoiding any friction and ensuring that the CM strikes a balance between the newcomers and the party loyalists during the ministry expansion. Currently, the CM can induct a maximum of 17 ministers, including 11 ‘newcomers’. He is likely to leave two berths vacant as the by-elections to two Assembly segments — RR Nagar in Bengaluru and Maski in Raichur district — are yet to be held as petitions are pending before the court.
In such circumstances, Yediyurappa can only induct 15 ministers. If the CM is keen on accommodating M T B Nagaraj and AH Vishwanath, who lost the bypolls, by getting them elected to the Legislative Council, he will be left with just 13 berths to be distributed. The scope for manoeuvre is not much as he can effectively accommodate only two BJP loyalists apart from 11 newcomers.
While the party is likely to placate some of its ministerial aspirants by appointing them as heads of boards and corporations – which also comes with a cabinet rank – the task is not easy. Party sources in the national capital also said that during ministry expansion, the CM and the party leaders will keep the BJP’s expansion plans in the Old Mysuru region in mind. The party has been making consistent efforts, including during its membership drive, to make inroads in the Old Mysuru region, which had so far remained a JDS and Congress bastion. After its win in KR Pet and Chikkaballapur in the bypolls, the party is keen on further strengthening its organisation in the Vokkaliga heartland.