Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s impending task of expanding his ministry appears to be tricky now with more contenders for berths than he can possibly accommodate, including party-hoppers who lost in the bypolls.
Now differences seem to be cropping from within the camp of migrants on who should get priority.
The former Minister A.H. Vishwanath, who has staked claim for a ministerial berth despite his loss in the bypolls from Hunsur, on Saturday said he could not have given up his constituency without contesting the elections.
Mr. Vishwanath, who quit the JD(S) and joined the BJP before contesting the election, reasoned that he entered the poll fray from Hunsur despite the assurance of a nomination to the Legislative Council as he was averse to the idea of giving up the constituency from where he had been elected in the 2018 elections. “So, I chose to enter the poll fray,” he said.
Council seat offer
He was reacting to a statement made by BJP MLA S.T. Somashekar at the annual Suttur Jatra near here that Mr. Vishwanath had turned down an offer made by Mr. Yediyurappa, prior to the bypolls, to become a Minister through a nomination to the Legislative Council.
Mr. Somashekar said Mr. Yediyurappa had, prior to the bypolls, made it clear that new entrants to the BJP would not be accommodated in the ministry if they lost the elections and had warned Mr. Vishwanath against contesting.
But, Mr. Vishwanath said he was confident of becoming a part of the ministry and said Mr. Yediyurappa had assured him of a berth prior to the bypolls. He cited the example of the BJP government at the Centre accommodating the late Arun Jaitley in the Cabinet despite his loss in the polls.
A similar offer was made to the former Minister R. Shankar. “He was told that he would be accommodated in the ministry after he enters the Legislative Council in May. Hence, Mr. Shankar would be made a Minister as per the promise given by the Chief Minister,” contended Mr. Somashekar. Mr. Shankar chose to stay out of the contest after he was told by the Chief Minister that the party would field a different candidate with a better chance of victory from his constituency.
Referring to Mr. Yediyurappa’s promise, after his return from Davos, to expand the ministry in three days, Mr. Somashekar said they were confident that all the 11 new entrants to the BJP who had been re-elected to the Assembly would become Ministers. He denied that the migrants were bringing pressure on the Chief Minister to expand the Ministry at the earliest. “We are hopeful that the expansion will take place soon,” he said.
