Yediyurappa finally expands Cabinet, inducts 17 Ministers

More than three weeks after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday expanded his ministry by inducting 17 ministers into his Cabinet.

This is the first cabinet expansion after he assumed office on July 26 and proved his government's majority on the floor of the Assembly on July 29.

The Chief Minister had been running a "one-man cabinet" so far that had drawn flak from the opposition Congress and JDS.

Even as the expansion brought an end the nearly month long wait for the cabinet to take shape, it triggered some unrest within the BJP as several MLAs made no secret of their discontent after failing to secure Ministerial berths.

Among those inducted into the cabinet on Tuesday, 16 are from the BJP and one independent, H Nagesh.

The new ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala at the Raj Bhavan here.

They include former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, two former deputy Chief Ministers -- K S Eshwarappa and R Ashoka, independent MLA H Nagesh and Laxman Sangappa Savadi,who is not a member of the Assembly or Council and MLC Kota Srinivas Poojari.

Others sworn in were: Govind M Karajol, Ashwath Narayan C N, B Sriramulu, S Suresh Kumar, V Somanna, C T Ravi, Basavaraj Bommai, J C Madhuswamy, C C Patil,Prabhu Chavan and Shashikala Jolle Annasaheb, who is the only woman cabinet Minister.

Amid reports that the BJP's central leadership had the final say on those to be inducted, many party insiders Tuesday said the new Ministry clearly showed Yediyurappa's stamp on it, with most of his confidants making it to the cabinet.

Soon after the swearing-in, the expanded cabinet met and decided to send all newly appointed Ministers to flood-ravaged districts to assess the relief and rehabilitation works being undertaken there.

Among those inducted into the cabinet, four of them Ashwath Narayan, Prabhu Chavan, Madhuswamy and Shashikala Jollem, have become ministers for the first time.

Lingayats, a dominant community to which Yediyurappa belongs and are considered the BJP's strong vote bank, has got the lion's share in this expansion, with seven from the community inducted into the cabinet.

With this, the total strength of Lingayats in the present Ministry has gone upto eight, including the Chief Minister.

The remaining are three Vokkaligas, three from Scheduled Caste, two OBCs, one from Scheduled Tribe and a Brahmin.

In district wise representation, Bengaluru Urban has four Ministers, Belagavi and Shivamogga (including Yediyurappa)two, one each from Bagalkote, Dharwad, Gadag, Chitradurga, Chikkamagalur, Haveri, Udupi,Tumkur,Bidar and Kolar districts.

Seventeen districts have not got any representation so far, among them several in Mysuru region -- Kodagu, Dakshina Kannda and Uttara Kannada-- which is a strong base of BJP, as also districts in Hyderabad-Karnataka region,other than Bidar.

While the induction of most of the ministers was along expected lines, Savadi was an exception as he is not a sitting legislator and had lost the Assembly elections last year.

His induction has also given rise to speculation that he may be considered as the party candidate during the bypolls from Athani constituency that fell vacant due to the resignation and disqualification of Mahesh Kumatahalli, who had won the seat in the 2018 polls on a Congress ticket.

Meanwhile, several BJP legislators made no secret of their discontent after failing to secure Ministerial berths.At many places, their supporters staged protests against "injustice" caused to their leaders.

This, even as some other MLAs left out of the Ministry, including M P Renukacharya of Honnali, Chennagiri MLA Madal Virupakshappa, met at Arabhavi MLA Balachandra Jarkiholis residence and held discussions.

Balachandra Jarkiholi later met Yediyurappa at his residence and was closeted with him.

Speaking to reporters, he said he was not dissatisfied and that he and the other MLAs would support the Chief Minister in the functioning of the government.

"The big challenge in front of us is relief in flood affected regions," he said. Karnataka can have a maximum of 34 Ministers, including the Chief Minister.

With this "limited" expansion, 16 cabinet berths are vacant, leaving space for some of the disqualified former Congress and JDS MLAs who helped bring down the coalition government headed by Kumaraswamy to get on board.

Meanwhile, some disqualified MLAs, including K Sudhakar, MTB Nagaraj, B C Patil, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Shivaram Hebbar and others met to discuss their plea pending before the Supreme Court, challenging their disqualification.

Clarifying that their meeting was on the case in the apex Court and not developments within the BJP after the cabinet expansion, Sudhakar said "it is that party's internal matter."

According to reports, the disqualified MLAs expressed keenness to meet BJPs central leadership over their political future.

Among the interesting things that caught the attention of everyone at the swearing-in was the attire and headgear of Prabhu Chavan, who hails from Banjara community.

While all other Ministers took the oath in the name of the god, Chavan took the oath in the name of "Mata Jagadamba" and "Sant Sevalal".

Interestingly, Madhuswamy while taking the oath,committed an error by stating that he was taking the oath "as the Chief Minister" instead of Minister, which created a flutter among those present at the event.

The Minister immediately corrected himself and completed the oath.

He also immediately had a small chat with Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who was on the stage, supposedly about the error, and both laughed it off.