Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa arrived at New Delhi on Sunday to meet the BJP top brass to seek approval for the expansion or reshuffle of his Cabinet, a long-pending exercise.
The CM, who landed in Delhi along with his younger son Vijayendra, told reporters that he would meet both Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J P Nadda today.
"I will discuss the party's victory in the recently held Gram Panchayat elections. and will assure the leaders as I'm confident the party will win maximum seats in the coming Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections," he said.
He will also discuss and finalise candidates for the upcoming Belagavi Lok Sabha and Maski and Rayabagh Assembly bypolls.
However the CM evaded from answering questions on pending cabinet expansion.
When asked whether cabinet expansion will be discussed, he just said, "everything will be discussed."
However, sources told DH that discussions on cabinet expansion in the state were certainly on the agenda.
Yediyurappa held discussions on cabinet expansion with the BJP national general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Arun Singh -- when Singh was in the state recently. If Yediyurappa gets the go-ahead, the Cabinet expansion may coincide with the auspicious Sankranti festival, sources said.
There are seven berths vacant in the 34-member Cabinet and more than a dozen ministerial aspirants are waiting in the wings to be inducted and have been mounting pressure on Yediyurappa. The CM has been pointing fingers at the party high command saying he will expand the Cabinet only after he gets permission from top leaders.
Also, there is little clarity on whether Yediyurappa will reshuffle his cabinet by dropping some incumbent ministers or just expand it.
(Published 10 January 2021, 08:17 IST)
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