Bangalore: Yedyurappa Likely to Extend his Team to 21
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, May 29: Team Yeddy has just got bigger. The BJP on Wednesday added five more names to the existing 10 who will be sworn in as ministers on Friday along with B S Yeddyurappa as CM. The party's think-tank is understood to have decided to accommodate only five of the six independents, besides adding five more home grown MLAs. With this, 21 legislators, including Yeddyurappa, will take oath on Friday May 30.
The BJP, which on Tuesday decided on drafting all six independents into the ministry, is said to have given Varthur Prakash the short shrift. Party insiders said he might get a look-in at the last minute.
Mining lords K Karunakara Reddy and B Sriramulu have been included in the new list. Sriramulu was infrastructure and tourism minister in the 20-month JD(S)-BJP coalition government. Yeddyurappa's confidante Shobha Karandlaje, one of the three women candidates elected from the party, is likely to join the ministry.
From Udupi district two names have been proposed for ministerial berth. Dr V S Acharya, MLC who had been minister in previous JDS- BJP 20-20 government is expected to retain his position in the ministry. On the other hand there is a speculation that either Haladay Srinivas Shetty of Kundapur or Ragupathi Bhat of Udupi might be inducted into the ministry.
From Mangalore, Yogish Bhat and Krishna Palemar have equal chances.
In another interesting development, daijiworld has learnt that former minister and Bantwal's defeated candidate Nagaraj Shetty has received emergency call from Bangalore. This indicates that he too might have his chances in the ministry. Nagaraj Shetty's close association with Narendra Modi and RSS leaders might be his 'extra qualifications' to fetch a ministerial berth. But top BJP officials did not not disclose any posibilities of Shetty becoming a minister despite his defeat.
Former minister Appu Pattana Shetty may also get a berth.
Though party did not give ticket to any Muslim candidate in the election, according to party insiders, Mumtaz Ali Khan, a party functionary, is likely to get the cabinet berth. But there is opposition to his candidature by a section of Muslims, who feel his statements are against Islam religion. For instance, his stance on cow slaughter has not been taken kindly by the Muslim community.
Jagadish Shettar, K S Eshwarappa, R Ashok, Katta Subrahmanya Naidu, Govind M Karjol, C M Udasi, S Suresh Kumar, Basavaraj Bommai, Basavaraj Patil Attur and B N Bachhe Gowda are the 10 other legislators in the proposed list. Of the 110 BJP MLAs, nearly 60 have served as MLAs more than once.
A three-member independent legislators' team that was taken to Chennai on Tuesday by former minister Ashok returned to Bangalore on Wednesday evening. Independents D Sudhakar and Venkataramanappa said they visited Goddess Lakshmi's temple in Vellore on their way to Chennai.
The other three independents — Varthur Prakash, P M Narendraswamy and Shivraj Thangadagi — were with MLC G Janardhan Reddy. "My priorities are Vanivilas reservoir, upgrading Dharmapura feeder canal and restarting sugar factory. This could be expedited if I join the ministry,'' Sudhakar said.
The only decision made by Yeddyurappa on Wednesday was to take V P Baligar as his principal secretary, a post he held when the former was CM for seven days.