Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, May 31: Uttara Kannada member of parliament, Anant Kumar Hegde, who was a minister of state in the department of skill development in the union ministry, has missed the bus now. He is not among those who were administered oath of office under Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Thursday May 30.

Many attribute the denial of ministerial position to Hegde's habit of getting into controversies through his outbursts which often put the party's leadership in an awkward position. It is said that even after allotting the important skill development ministry, Hegde not only termed it initially as a well without water, but also failed to perform up to the expectations of the Prime Minister.

During last year's assembly election, instead of consciously working to win more seats for the party, he created a piquant situation by announcing that the BJP had come to power to affect amendment to the constitution. This statement is said to have caused loss to the party in the assembly election, and it also angered national president of BJP, Amit Shah. During the recent Lok Sabha election, his tweet that supported the view that Gandhiji's assassin, Godse, was a patriot, had met with lot of criticism from within and outside the party. A senior leader of the party guessed that Hegde lost out because of these reasons.

The failure to make the grade has also disappointed Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP, Shobha Karandlaje, and Kalaburagi MP, Umesh Jadhav, who were expected to be included in the cabinet. It was widely believed that Jadhav, in spite of being a first time MP, would be rewarded for taming long term MP and eminent Congress leader, Mallikarjun Kharge. It was also thought that former minister, Ramesh Jigajinagi, Umesh Jadhav or V Srinivas Prasad would be made a minister as they hail from reserved constituencies. Shobha, it was thought, would be considered under the quota meant for Vokkaliga and women. But that did not happen.