With two BJP leaders from Belagavi district already in the Council of Ministers, the moot point now is how many more will make it to the Cabinet in the next inevitable expansion by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.
While Shashikala Jolle who won her second term from Nippani has taken charge of the Women and Child Welfare Ministry, Laxman Savadi who lost the Assembly polls has been made the Deputy Chief Minister. He is also holding Transport and other portfolios.
In the 2019 bypolls, Ramesh Jarkiholi won the polls from Gokak after defecting to the BJP. His follower Mahesh Kumthalli won from Athani and Srimanth Patil defeated Raju Kage of the Congress from Kagwad. It was earlier expected that these three people would join the Cabinet.
“The former Minister and eight-time MLA Umesh Katti was considered another strong contender. But then, this would push up the number of Ministers from Belagavi to six and that would have been perceived as disproportionately high. That needed to be addressed at the level of the party and at the level of the general public,” said a former Minister and BJP leader.
Now, the general impression in the district is that Ramesh Jarkiholi will join the Cabinet while Mr. Kumthalli and Mr. Patil will have to be content with chairmanships of State-level boards or corporations. “Mr. Jarkiholi will be a Minister and will most likely head Water Resources. The others may not make it,” say sources in the BJP. “Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has spoken to Mr. Patil and Mr. Kumthalli about this already. They will stay silent as long as Ramesh Jarkiholi is accommodated,” said a BJP executive committee member.
“Senior RSS functionaries in Belagavi district have also held a meeting with some BJP leaders from Athani and Kagwad where this issue was discussed,’’ the leader said.
BJP leaders admit that Mr. Katti’s claim cannot be dismissed easily. “He was not inducted the first time due to some of his utterances perceived as irresponsible statements. He was later instructed not to make controversial statements. He has also been meeting senior leaders of the party seeking inclusion. Now-a-days he is among the leaders who are most often seen with the Chief Minister. He is a senior Lingayat Banajiga leader and he cannot be neglected,” said another party leader.
Mr. Katti, however, said that he had stopped worrying about his non-inclusion. “Mr. Yediyurappa is an old friend and I accompany him during his tours. That is not to bring pressure on him to make me a Minister,” he said.
But such moves seem to have irked other senior MLAs. For instance, Abhay Patil who has won three terms is the lone MLA belonging to the Jain community whose members are seen as strong supporters of the BJP. He was known as a loyalist of the former Union Minister late Ananth Kumar. His non-inclusion is said to have disappointed him. But he says he will not seek Ministership. “I have grown up as a RSS volunteer. The background that I come from does not allow me to demand that I be made a Minister or that I try to lobby using my community leaders or religious heads. I am only of the opinion that my work in my constituency should be rewarded with a Ministry. If made a Minister, I will do well and bring a good name to the district and the party,’’ he told The Hindu.
