Karnataka BJP MLAs want Cabinet rejig to counter Congress

Senior Karnataka BJP legislators Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and MP Renukacharya held a closed-door meeting Thursday where they decided to mount pressure for an early Cabinet rejig, which they said can hit the brakes on the speed of the D K Shivakumar-led Congress.

Yatnal and Renukacharya, seen as ministerial aspirants themselves, have been demanding a Gujarat-style overhaul of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s Cabinet by dropping incumbent ministers to bring in fresh faces.

“If the time comes, we will even go to Delhi to hold talks with top leaders,” Renukacharya, the chief minister’s political secretary, told reporters.

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“There's no rebellion. Cabinet expansion is getting delayed. The Congress, especially D K Shivakumar, is under the illusion that they’re winning. To stop their speed, some changes must be made,” he said.

Asked why only he and Yatnal are clamouring for changes in the Cabinet, Renukacharya said: “This is the opinion of many MLAs who are going through pain and unable to speak out. They support what we are saying.”

Bommai has four vacant positions in the 34-member Cabinet. Party sources say that Cabinet expansion or reshuffle is unlikely until after the Uttar Pradesh polls in March.

“To know a person’s potential, it needs time. If you make someone a minister in or after March, will that person have enough time to spend in the constituency?” Renukacharya asked, referring to how Karnataka will change gears for the 2023 Assembly elections after the UP poll results.

“We have no angst against incumbent ministers. We’re saying that those who do good work and are accessible to people should continue. Those who are there just for the sake of power should be dropped,” Renukacharya said.

Yatnal, a former Union minister, said there is confusion on when the Cabinet exercise will take place - before the UP polls or after. “We still hope something good will happen,” he said.

That the Congress managed to make enough noise with its 4-day Mekedatu foot march coupled with the recent results of the MLC and urban local body polls seem to have rung some alarm bells. “I’m not saying that the government’s sphere of influence has reduced. It is intact. But, we need to break the Congress’s illusion,” Renukacharya said.

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