Kalyana Karnataka gets its due as Bhagawanth Khuba inducted into union cabinet

Khuba had joined the BJP when former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani visited Bidar in 1991

Kalyana Karnataka region which was neglected by the state government while expanding the cabinet has finally got its due at the Centre with Bidar MP Bhagawanth Khuba being inducted into the Union cabinet on Wednesday.

He is the first MP from the region to become union minister in the BJP-led government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. Except for Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan, no BJP MLA from the region made it to the state cabinet led by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. There had been a clamour that due representation should be given to the region which has been the stronghold of the BJP for the past few years.

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There are talks in the BJP circles that the BJP leadership has chosen Bhagwanth Khuba, a lingayat and two-time MP from the region, to become a minister, as the party is setting its eye on the next assembly polls. Lingayats, who form a major chunk in the region with 40 assembly segments, have been a traditional votebank of the BJP and play a vital role in the victory of the candidates. To keep them intact with the party and strengthen the party base further, Khuba has been inducted into the union ministry.

His loyalty to the party and Sangh Parivar's connection might have come in handy for him to be the minister, a BJP leader said.

Basavaraj Ingin, another BJP leader, said Belgavi region and Hubballi-Dharwad got a sufficient representation in the state cabinet, and so did other regions. "Kalyana Karnataka is the only region which was totally neglected during the state cabinet expansion. With the induction of Khuba into the union cabinet, the representation has been given to Kalyana Karnataka. Central leadership might have chosen him to strengthen the party further in the region and to send a signal that the party has not neglected the region," he said.