BSY to allot portfolios on Monday, deputy CMs likely

Karnataka’s newly sworn-in ministers will be allocated portfolios on Monday, with speculation rife that Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa might get as many as three deputies.

Govind M Karajol, Ashwath Narayan C N and Laxman S Savadi are likely to be deputy chief ministers. All three are likely to get plum portfolios like PWD, Irrigation and Transport, party sources told DH.

However, Yediyurappa — anticipating trouble over the Lingayat community getting over-represented — is said to have suggested K S Eshwarappa’s name instead of Savadi’s.

Several party MLAs have already expressed their ire over the induction of Savadi, who lost the 2018 Assembly polls from Athani.

Ranking system

Apart from caste and community considerations, Karajol, Narayan, and Savadi are said to have emerged as front-runners on the basis of a ranking system developed by the state BJP unit.

Interestingly, Karajol was the first to take oath as the Cabinet minister when Yediyurappa inducted ministers on August 20. Ashwath Narayan and Savadi took oath immediately, which was seen as the new pecking order.

As per the ranking system, which considered organisation skills, Dalit leader Karajol emerged on top followed by Vokkaliga leader Ashwath Narayan and Lingayat leader Savadi.

Senior leaders such as former deputy chief ministers K S Eshwarappa, R Ashok and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar got lower ranking, sources said.

“You will know on Monday how many deputy chief ministers will be there, whether it will be two or three,” Yediyurappa told reporters in New Delhi on Sunday. He said the list of ministerial portfolios will be sent to the Raj Bhavan on Monday morning and announced the same day.

The chief minister was in the national capital to attend the funeral of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

Yediyurappa was not keen on having any deputy chief ministers, but the party high command had a different view. The party top brass was of the view that appointing deputy chief ministers would help the organisation build a second rung leadership in the state and also rein in Yediyurappa.