Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Sep 18: Even as the core committee of the BJP is set to meet in the city on the evening of Saturday September 18, speculation is rife about the ministers who are likely to lose their berths.

The meeting will be attended among others, by state Chief Minister, B S Yeddyurappa, state BJP president, K S Eshwarappa, BJP national general secretary, Anant Kumar, minister for rural development, Jagadish Shettar, and state secretary of BJP, Santosh.

At present, three ministerial positions are vacant, including the one created recently with the resignation of minister for medical education, Ramachandra Gowda. The party leadership wants to clip off a few ministers from the ministry, either because they are inefficient or mired in controversies. Names of minister for agriculture, S A Ravindranath, minister for public libraries and mass education, K Shivanagouda Naik, muzrai minister, D Sudhakar, minister for minority welfare, Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan, and fisheries minister, Anand Asnotikar, are in the list of those whose performances are under review. At least a couple of them will be on the chopping block, rumour mongers say. While Sudhakar got unsolicited publicity for deaths in the beggars’ rehabilitation colony in the city, the performance of others is not said to be upto the expected level.

While Shobha Karandlaje and V Somanna are almost sure to make it to the cabinet, the other names under consideration are C T Ravi, D N Jeevaraj, Anekal Narayanaswami, Ramadas, Shankaralinge Gowda, Sogadu Shivanna and S K Bellubbi. Bellubbi had been forced to quit the cabinet to pave way for Umesh Katti, who had joined the BJP through ‘Operation Kamala’ in 2008, on the assurance that he would be a minister.