Karnataka Cabinet expansion: 7 new ministers to be sworn in on January 13, says CM B S Yediyurappa

In the past BJP had dragged its feet over allowing Cabinet expansion in the state over doubts of Yediyurappa's leadership which were quelled later

Seven ministers will be inducted into the state Cabinet on Wednesday, January 13, said CM B S Yediyurappa following his return from Delhi, adding that the BJP high command gave its nod to induct new ministers.

He said that a list of ministers will be finalised by the morning of January 11. "New ministers will be sworn in post noon on January 13," he said.

Central BJP leadership, it can be recalled, had dragged its feet over permitting Cabinet expansion in the state due to continued speculation over Yediyurappa's leadership. This was recently dismissed by BJP general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Arun Singh, who asserted that the Lingayat leader will continue to be at the helm of affairs in the state.

Yediyurappa said that the details of the new ministers will be revealed on Monday. There are several hopefuls vying for a Cabinet berth. Of the seven Cabinet berths, MLCs MTB Nagaraj and R Shankar, and MLA Muniratna - among those who rebelled from the previous Congress-JD(S) coalition - will be inducted.

There are several ministerial aspirants in the BJP camp, including eight-time legislator Umesh Katti, Arvind Limbavali and MLC CP Yogeeshwar among others.