Hard to pick from aspirants galore, CM has delicate task ahead

The nod for Cabinet expansion by the high command has raised expectations among several ministerial aspirants in the BJP camp. It has also left a few ministers anxious about their berths due to the possibility that a couple of them could be replaced to ensure better regional balance in the Cabinet.

Excise Minister H Nagesh, tipped to be among the ministers likely to be dropped, insisted that he would remain part of the Cabinet. Another minister staring at the same fate is Women and Child Development Minister Shashikala Jolle, who said that she was not aware of any decision to replace her adding that she was bound by the party decision.

Of the seven ministerial berths, three are reserved for MLCs M T B Nagaraj and R Shankar, and MLA Muniratna - who had resigned from the Congress-JD(S) coalition.

Several aspirants from the native BJP camp have thrown their hats into the ring to fill the remaining four vacancies. Sources say that there is a possibility that one of the seven berths could be kept vacant, depending on the directions from the party high command.

In the absence of a final list of new ministers - expected to be announced by the CM soon - several theories are doing the rounds on the issue. There are rumours that one minister each from Bengaluru Urban and Belagavi districts will be dropped to accommodate other representatives from these districts.

While sources said that a Cabinet reshuffle was unlikely and only new ministers will be inducted, they did not rule out the possibility that a few ministers could be dropped.

“If Umesh Katti is inducted, the number of ministers from Belagavi will increase to five. As a result, Jolle could be dropped to accommodate Katti.” Either Karwar MLA Rupali Naik or Hiriyur MLA Poornima are expected to bag the berth,” sources said.

Similarly, Yediyurappa is said to be in a fix over Muniratna’s induction, which would increase the number of Bengaluru MLAs in the Cabinet.

“This could force the CM to drop one Cabinet minister from the city. This also closes doors on the prospects on Mahadevapura MLA Arvind Limbavali, who is eyeing a berth,” sources added.

Other frontrunners for Cabinet berths include MLAs Rajugouda, S Angara, V Sunil Kumar and MLC C P Yogeeshwar - whose induction is opposed by a section of BJP MLAs.