Sriramulu, Yatnal reiterate Cabinet ambitions

Even as Health Minister B Sriramulu reiterated his ambition to become deputy chief minister, senior BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Saturday also threw his hat in the ring saying he should have become a minister long ago.

Sriramulu, arguably one of the BJP’s most influential ST leaders, was projected as the deputy chief ministerial candidate during the 2018 Assembly polls. But with Ramesh Jarkiholi, also ST, in the BJP and believed to be in the deputy chief minister’s race, Sriramulu is said to be sulking.

“It is true that people wanted someone from the ST community - me - to be made DyCM. But I haven’t spoken about this anywhere. I’ve been away from work
due to personal reasons and I had taken the CM’s permission,” Sriramulu said, clarifying that he was not disgruntled.

Asked about Jarkiholi’s name doing the rounds for the DyCM’s position, Sriramulu pointed towards the BJP leadership. “The party will have to decide on these things. I’m not insisting on any position for myself,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yatnal said his seniority in the party was older than Sriramulu. “He is a key leader and has striven to build the party. But in changed circumstances, the 17 MLAs who resigned need to be pacified as well,” he said.

“I also built the party, even before Sriramulu. Given my seniority, I should’ve been made a minister in the
first round (of the Cabinet expansion). Still, I’m content and it’s a sacrifice for the sake of the party that has come to power.”

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is slated to expand his Cabinet after December
22 to accommodate 11 newly-elected legislators who won the recent bypolls as a “reward” for their help in installing the BJP government in the state. However, patience seems to be wearing thin among native BJP leaders who are aspiring for ministerial berths.