BENGALURU: A week after assuming charge as Chief Minister of Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday expanded his Cabinet by inducting 29 ministers. Like his predecessor BS Yediyurappa, Bommai too has given a lion’s share in his ministry to BJP legislators from Bengaluru. Of the 29 ministers, almost 25 per cent (7 ministers) are from Bengaluru.
According to political pundits, the Assembly elections in 2023 and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls early next year seem to have prompted the BJP to give Bengaluru a big piece of the power pie. Interestingly, the BJP has chosen more turncoats — those who quit the JDS and Congress in 2019 and helped the saffron party form the government — than BJP old-timers from Bengaluru.
While old-timers Dr C N Ashwath Narayan (Malleswaram), R Ashoka (Padmanabhanagar) and V Somanna (Govindarajanagar) have made it to the Cabinet, turncoat legislators S T Somashekar (Yeshwanthpur), Byrathi Basavaraj (K R Puram), K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout) and Munirathna (RR Nagar) have also made the cut. Of the seven ministers, only Muniratna is a new face in the Cabinet. Interestingly, S Suresh Kumar (Rajajinagar) and Aravind Limbavali (Mahadevapura) from the previous cabinet have been dropped.
In 2008, the BJP had 17 MLAs from Bengaluru. The number, however, fell to 12 in 2013 and further to 11 in 2018. However, after several MLAs from the JDS-Congress combine joined the BJP and won the bypolls in 2019, the number rose to 14. This further increased to 15 after Munirathna won the RR Nagar bypoll in 2020.
Speaking to TNIE, a BJP insider said that though the party high command was keen on making more legislators from outside Bengaluru as ministers, Bommai batted for city legislators keeping the BBMP polls in mind.
“Generally, the BBMP election is won by the ruling party. It is a challenging task for Bommai to retain power in the civic body. This could also be a reason for him in accommodating seven Bengaluru MLAs in his Cabinet,” the source added.
There were also murmurs of Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanaya replacing Suresh Kumar.
Now, a major challenge before Bommai is the allocation of the much-sought-after Bengaluru Development portfolio.
Yediyurappa had kept the portfolio to himself as there were many aspirants. Bommai too is likely to face a similar situation with Ashoka, Ashwath Narayan and Somashekar in the race.
The Picks From city
R Ashoka Padmanabhanagar
Dr C N Ashwath Narayan
Malleswaram
Byrathi Basavaraj
KR Puram
V Somanna Govindarajanagar
ST Somashekar
Yeshwanthpur
Munirathna
RR Nagar
K Gopalaiah
Mahalakshmi Layout
FACTORS AT PLAY
New Faces 06
Sunil Kumar (BA): Karkala MLA, is rooted in the Sangh and is currently BJP chief whip
Araga Jnanendra (BCom): Thirthahalli MLA, considered BSY loyalist; Last time, he was made Housing Board chairman as he didn’t get a cabinet berth
Munirathna (SSLC): The RR Nagar MLA was among the 17 who quit the JDS-Cong govt
Halappa Achar (BSc): Yelburga MLA gets push as reward for loyalists
Shankar Patil Munenkoppa (under graduate): Naval-gunda MLA was picked as reward for party and ideological loyalty
B C Nagesh (BE): Tiptur MLA is a community replacement for Suresh Kumar; case believed to be pushed by BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh
those who missed the bus 07
Jagadish Shettar: Withdrew from contention after a videowent viral suggesting that he would be dropped
Suresh Kumar: Senior leader from the Brahmin community, he was dropped to reduce representation from Bengaluru
Aravind Limbavali : A prominent OBC leader from Bengaluru, he is expected to get party responsibility
Lakshman Savadi: Failed to emerge as an alternative leader from the Lingayat community
C P Yogeeshwara: Dropped to discourage indiscipline following his public criticism of B S Yediyurappa
R Shankar : Dropped to make way for Muniratna from the same camp
Shrimanth Patil: Makes way for Lingayat leaders from core BJP to strike a balance.
old faces in Team Bommai 23
Govind Karjol (SSLC): BSY is said to have batted for him
K S Eshwarappa (BCom): OBC leader from Shivamogga had the support of B L Santhosh
R Ashoka (BSc): Confidante and aide of Bommai, hopeful of getting a plum portfolio
B Sriramulu (BA): Lone ST minister in Bommai cabinet
V Somanna (BA): Lingayat leader has strong backing of mutts
Umesh Katti (SSLC): Has Yediyurappa’s support as well as party’s favour in the region
S Angara (Class9): SC face backed strongly by the Sangh
J C Madhuswamy (MA,LLB): Good orator, he has the backing of community and party
Dr C N Ashwath Narayan (MBBS): Backed by BL Santhosh
C C Patil (SSLC): Panchamasali Lingayat with backing of the community as well as the party
Anand Singh (PU): One of the 17 who ‘defected’ to the BJP and lone leader from the newly-formed Vijayanagara district
Kota Srinivas Poojari (SSLC): Rooted in the Sangh and face of OBC in coastal belt
Prabhu Chauhan (PU): Prominent SC leader who was instrumental in bringing the anti-cattle slaughter Bill in Karnataka
Murugesh Nirani (BE): Pancha-masali Lingayat has Amit Shah’s backing and community’s blessings
Shivaram Hebbar (SSLC): Ideological inclination despite being a newcomer to BJP in 2019
S T Somashekhar (BSc): Newcomer who has established bonhomie in the BJP and has a strong presence in Bengaluru
B C Patil (BA): From the CM’s home district and is among the turncoats
Byrathi Basavaraj (BA): Has strong foothold in Bengaluru
Dr K Sudhakar (MBBS): The only winnable candidate for the BJP in Chikkaballapur for now, though he came from the Congress in 2019
K Gopalaiah (BSc): Newcomer,but strong in his constituency in Bengaluru
Shashikala Jolle (PU): Last-minute addition for regional and community representation; chosen over K Poornima
MTB Nagaraj (Class 8): Richest MLA in Karnataka and a great source of support for the BJP in Bengaluru Rural in terms of cadres and resources
Narayanagowda (Diploma) : The lone BJP MLA from Mandya, an otherwise JDS stronghold