Suspense looming over Karnataka cabinet expansion has finally ended. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's final choice for the members of the legislative assembly is out and it includes a revised formula consisting of 10 MLAs instead of the proposed "10+3." BSY's list of MLAs for his cabinet consists of 10 out of 11 disqualified legislators who won the by-polls on BJP ticket, keeping the BJP loyalists waiting.
The list of ten Congress-JD(S) turncoats who would take oath as ministers on Thursday include:
- Ramesh Jarkiholi (Gokak)
- Byrathi Basavaraj (KR Puram)
- BC Patil (Hirekerur)
- ST Somashekhar (Yeshwantpur)
- Anand B Singh (Vijayanagar)
- Shivram Hebbar (Yellapur)
- K Sudhakar (Chikkaballapur)
- Narayana Gowda (Krishnarajapet)
- Shrimant Patil (Kagwad)
- K Gopalaiah (Mahalakshmi Layout)
The swearing-in ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday at the Raj Bhavan.
Next plan of action
Athani MLA Mahesh Kumathalli will be the only leader who had defected from Congress-JD(S) to be left out from the choice for Karnataka cabinet expansion. But it is not disappointing for the minister as sources suggest Kumathalli would be offered an influential post as the director of the state-run corporation.
"Isolating Kumathalli alone would definitely send a wrong signal. But the inclusion only a few selected old guard would have created greater trouble. So, the chief minister's decision to go with the migrants alone, for now, seems to be pragmatic. It serves the interest of the party," said former minister Murugesh Nirani.
After filling the ten spots, Yediyurappa has six vacancies on hand. BSY would now be able to maneuver with ease and push the further expansion of the cabinet until after the MLC polls in June. During this time, the CM could also drop a few ministers from his cabinet to make room for new ones on top of the six vacant spots. This will certainly be a good opportunity for BSY to push the aspirants harder and avoid friction within the party.
