Karnataka bypolls | Lobbying intensifies for ministerial berths

Lobbying for ministerial berths intensified over the weekend, shut on the heels of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s announcement that he meant to go to Delhi instantly after the bypoll outcomes on Tuesday to get the excessive command’s clearance for Cabinet enlargement.

It has been a long-pending train and the Chief Minister has not been capable of get the excessive command to permit him to develop/reshuffle his Cabinet for a number of months now. During his Delhi go to within the third week of September, when he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP nationwide president J.P. Nadda, he failed to realize the specified consequence, triggering hypothesis that the central leaders have been pondering of a management change in Karnataka after the Bihar Assembly polls. “The exit polls predicting an upset defeat for the NDA government in Bihar seems to have only made the Chief Minister more assertive. This is evident in how he has announced his intent to visit Delhi to get clearance for a Cabinet expansion/reshuffle. A defeat [for the BJP] in Bihar will only strengthen the credentials of a regional satrap like Yediyurappa who can deliver poll wins for the party,” one in all his shut associates stated.

While campaigning for the bypolls, Mr. Yediyurappa had confidently introduced that Munirathna, the BJP candidate in R.R. Nagar, could be a Minister after the polls. He has now adopted this up by saying his intention to go to Delhi for the excessive command’s approval.

Push for reshuffle

With C.T. Ravi’s resignation from the Cabinet being accepted, the variety of vacancies has gone as much as seven. “The Chief Minister is likely to push for a Cabinet reshuffle, drop some Ministers, and accommodate more new faces. Some of the north Karnataka MLAs have held meetings of legislators and openly declared their dissidence over the last few months,” a strategist near Mr. Yediyurappa stated. While the halfy circles are abuzz with hypothesis about who may be dropped in case of a reshuffle, sources near the Chief Minister stated he was maintaining his playing cards near his chest. Whether the excessive command will allow him to undertake a reshuffle or only clear an enlargement exercise is to be seen.

Mr. Yediyurappa has already made public commitments to make R. Shankar, N. Nagaraj (MTB), Munirathna, and Umesh Katti Ministers. He is anticipated to maintain his phrase, within the case of Munirathna, provided that he wins, sources stated. Meanwhile, a number of others, together with A.H. Vishwanath, Arvind Limbavali, C.P. Yogeshwar, and Raju Gowda, have been lobbying exhausting for a ministerial berth. “Balancing the aspirations of several ministerial aspirants will be a challenge any day. While the Cabinet expansion/reshuffle is pitched as a medicine to put a lid on political dissidence, it may also end up opening a can of worms,” a senior Minister stated.