Will finalise Cabinet expansion in Delhi, says BSY

With the flood situation normalising, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has got down to brass tacks of the much-delayed Cabinet expansion, with BJP leaders having resumed lobbying for ministerial positions.

On Thursday night, Yediyurappa left for the national capital where he will spend the next two days. “I will finalise the Cabinet expansion after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” the CM told reporters.

On Friday, Yediyurappa is also slated to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister for Railways, MoS Civil Aviation to discuss various state projects.

Yediyurappa has come under attack for running a “one-man show” without a council of ministers. Since July 26, when he took oath as chief minister, Yediyurappa has had to tackle the flood situation all by himself. He is under pressure from within the BJP as well as from the Opposition to appoint Cabinet ministers. The Congress and the JD(S) have charged that administration has come to a standstill without Cabinet ministers.

On Thursday, a delegation of BJP leader led by Baburao Chinchansur met Yediyurappa, demanding a Cabinet berth for the Koli community leader. Chinchansur played a key role in defeating Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge from Gulbarga in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

According to sources, Yediyurappa has prepared a long list of ministerial aspirants. It is speculated that a majority of names on the list are BJP legislators from the dominant Lingayat community that Yediyurappa also belongs to.

Over half-a-dozen BJP legislators from Bengaluru are also ministerial hopefuls, including former ministers R Ashoka, S Suresh Kumar, Arvind Limbavali and V Somanna. It is said that some Cabinet berths will be kept vacant in order to placate the disqualified legislators, who have moved Supreme Court challenging their disqualification.