Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has retained the Bengaluru Development portfolio like his predecessor B.S. Yediyurappa, drawing the ire of many civic activists who argue the State capital needs a dedicated Minister and the Chief Minister would not be able to do justice.
“It is clear from our recent experience that the Chief Minister will not be able to provide focus and time for Bengaluru. Especially during a time when the BBMP council is also not in place and it is being governed by an administrator from the State government,” said V. Ravichandar, former member of the BBMP Restructuring Committee.
Ironically, while the city had eight Ministers under Mr. Yediyurappa and there are seven in Mr. Bommai-led Cabinet, the Chief Minister continues to hold charge of the city.
However, there seems to be a problem in picking one person for the task because of internal dynamics. “R. Ashok was considered an undisputed leader of the party for the city. But the party high command disrupted that when it made C.N. Ashwath Narayan, a junior, a Deputy Chief Minister under Mr. Yediyurappa. Now none of the Ministers from the city is prepared to work under the leadership of another, pushing the Chief Minister to retain the charge,” a senior city MLA from the BJP said.
“The last two years were marred by one-upmanship between Ministers from the city and Mr. Yediyurappa, who retained many heavy-duty Ministries, was constantly firefighting dissidence and could barely give time for the city. Sadly, this may continue under the new dispensation as well,” lamented senior civic activist N.S. Mukunda.
