Disgruntled BJP MLAs to meet in Bengaluru on Jan 19

A few ruling BJP legislators, who missed ministerial berths in recent expansion of the B S Yediyurappa cabinet in Karnataka, would meet here on Tuesday to chalk out their strategy, including meeting senior party leaders, including in New Delhi, party legislator M P Renukacharya said.

Spearheading the campaign to convey the discomfort among the MLAs to the party high command, the Honnali MLA on Monday said the meeting will be within the democratic framework of right to expression in the party. "Tomorrow morning a few MLAs are coming to Bengaluru. We will discuss and then we will decide. We have not fixed any date but we will discuss with our MLAs regarding our Delhi visit," he told reporters here.

Renukacharya, considered a loyalist of Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, requested the media not to treat them as disgruntled or rebel MLAs. "We are not against the party, organisation or leadership. We are only conveying our pain and sentiments to our seniors in the party and we have the liberty to express our sentiments," he said.

Yediyurappa had expanded his 17-month-old cabinet on January 13 with the induction of seven new ministers, with the long-awaited exercise resulting in resentment within the BJP with some MLAs, including Renukacharya, airing reservations over them being not considered and lack of representation to several districts.

They claimed only a few communities, primarily Vokkaligas and Lingayats, and two major districts -- Bengaluru and Belagavi-- got more representation in the cabinet. The chief minister had asked such sulking BJP leaders to take up the matter with the national leadership and urged them to refrain from making any remarks affecting the party.