Bangalore : New Era Begins in Karnataka as Yeddyurappa Assumes Power
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (MSP)
Bangalore, May 30: A new era heralded in the state politics after BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa took oath as the 25th chief minister of Karnataka in the presence of lacs of BJP supporters and national leaders, in front of the Vidhana Soudha here on Friday May 30 afternoon. While this is the second time that Yedyurappa has assumed power as the chief minister, it is for the first time that BJP has come into power in South India, on its own.
Governor Rameshwar Thakur administered oath of office to the members of the newly-formed council of ministers, in a glittering ceremony, witnessed by national leaders like BJP national president Rajnath Singh, leader of the opposition in Loksabha L K Advani, NDA convenor George Fernandes, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal, ex Maharashtra deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde beside state MPs, swamijis and other leaders.
Yeddyurappa, who was busy visiting temples and places of worship since morning, arrived at the oath-taking ceremony venue at 1.50 pm, and proceeded to take oath after seeking blessings of the elders present. All the 29 ministers who took oath under the leadership of Yeddyurappa are of cabinet rank.
Apart from Yeddyurappa, the ministers who took oath in the glittering ceremony splashed saffron coloured flags, headbands etc., are Govind Karjol, K S Eshwarappa, Dr V S Achrya, Ramachandre Gowda, C M Udasi, Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan, R Ashok, Janardan Reddy, Ravindranath, Kageri Vishweshwara Hegde, Bacche Gowda, Karunakar Reddy, Basavaraj Bommai, Shobha Karandlaje, Sriramulu, Revunayak Belamagi, Krishna Palemar, Suresh Kumar, Venkataramanappa, Aravind Limbavali, Krishnaiah Shetty, B M Narendra Babu Swamy, D Sudhakar, Halappa, Shivaraj Tangadagi, S K Bellubbi, Laxman Savadi, Goolihatti Shekhar and Murugesh Nirani.
New Ministers of the state
Arvind Limbavali Bachegowda K S Eishwarappa Govind Karjol
C M Udasi Karunakar Reddy Venkatramanappa Laxman Savadi
Krishna Palemar Shobha Karandlaje Sriramulu Vishweshwara Hegde
R Ashok S K Bellubbi Basavaraj Bommai Janardhan Reddy
Krishnaih Shetty Murugesh Nirani Revunayak Goolihatti Shekhar
Shivraj Tangadagi D Sudhakar Suresh Kumar Dr V S Acharya
Names of various people were making the rounds prior to the ceremony, most of whom have made the grade. Surprise omissions this time are those of prominent leaders like Jagadish Shettar from Hubli, Shankaralinge Gowda from Mysore and Appacchu Ranjan from Kodagu. The names of Halady Srinivas Shetty, Kundapur MLA and Sogadu Shivanna too were circulated earlier, but they too failed to become ministers. Bellary district got a lion's share with the induction of Janardan Reddy, Karunakar Reddy and Sriramumu into the cabinet. As there is scope of inducting four more ministers, some might join the cabinet in the days to follow.
Palemar, Dr Acharya in Cabinet:
As expected former minister and MLC Dr V S Acharya and Mangalore North MLA Krishna Palemar have been inducted in the cabinet. Though there were expectations about either Yogish Bhat or Halady Srinivas Shetty getting a nod, Yeddyurappa has not taken them into the cabinet now. Sources said that one of them may get chance during the expected cabinet expansion in the coming days.
Sources also said that Dr V S Acharya, who is one of the chief strategist of BJP in the state and senior leader, will be given the responsibility of Home Ministry. On the other hand if MLAs from Bangalore agree, Palemar might be given the responsibility of Urban Development ministry.
Along with this Shobha Karandlaje who hails from Puttur in Dakshina Kannada too has been inducted in the cabinet. With this Yeddyurappa has silenced at least a few critics who have been complaining that women are not represented adequately in the BJP government.
About Yeddyurappa:
Yeddyurappa was born on February 27, 1943 in the village of Bookanakere in the Mandya district. His father Siddalingappa and mother Puttathayamma belonged to the Lingayat community. He was named after the presiding deity of a Shaivite temple built by the saint Siddalingeshwar at Yediyur, in Tumkur district. He lost his mother when he was just four year old. He completed his education with a degree in Bachelor of Arts.
In 1965, he got a job of a first-division clerk in the social welfare department but instead shifted to Shikaripur where he joined as a clerk at Veerabhadra Shastri's Shankar rice mill. In 1967, Yeddyurappa married Mythradevi, the daughter of Veerabhadra Shastri. He later set up a hardware shop in Shimoga.
Yeddyurappa has two sons; Raghavendra and Vijayendra and three daughters; Arunadevi, Padmavati and Umadevi. In 2004, he lost his wife when she accidentally fell into a water tank. In 2007, on the advice of his astrologer, he changed the spelling of his English name from Yediyurappa to Yeddyurappa to have luck on his side.
He was first elected to the lower house of Karnataka Legislature in 1983 and has since represented the Shikaripur constituency five times.
BJP's Journey to Power: