Recent tussle in BJP has left CM Yeddyurappa no choice but to postpone his cabinet's expansion, leaving his most-favoured candidate's future undecided
Recent tussle in BJP has left CM Yeddyurappa no choice but to postpone his cabinet's expansion, leaving his most-favoured candidate's future undecided
The muddle in the BJP seems to have ruffled a lot of feathers. Shobha Karandlaje, who is looking for a re-entry into the state cabinet, may have to wait, as the chief minister was forced to postpone the expansion of his cabinet.
CM Yeddyurappa is visibly desperate to include his good friend and the former minister in the cabinet. Keeping this in mind, he had fixed date for the expansion on August 12, which also gave hope to V Somanna, another former minister and another contender for the cabinet.
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While there is no apparent opposition for Shobha, city leaders, including transport minister R Ashok, are doing everything to stop Somanna, who is seen as trouble.
"Ashok always feel insecure when Somanna is around, and he is opposing Somanna's inclusion into the cabinet," said a BJP leader. "The prevailing political crisis in the party has come as a boon for him, and he has managed to postpone the expansion process."
A core committee met on Monday, after a public rally held at Davanagere, to finalise the modalities of the cabinet expansion.
However, Yeddyurappa received instructions from the high command to postpone the exercise until the Panchayat polls due for the year end. The reason they cited was the crisis that has cropped up because of the illegal mining issue.
A miffed Yeddyurappa cancelled the core committee meeting before it was rescheduled for August 7.
Shobha was dropped from the cabinet after the Reddy brothers engineered a political coup against the Chief Minister last year, while Somanna, who defected from the Congress to join BJP, was defeated in a bi-election, after he was inducted into the ministry.
Renukacharya, Honnali, a then MLA and now a minister, who had argued for the ouster of Shobha, is now in the CM's camp and the Reddys seemed to have fallen in line, with the Tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy meeting Yeddyurappa at his residence, yesterday.
"With the meeting, it looks like they have come to a truce," said a source closed to Yeddyurappa. "However, it is too late for Shobha Karandlaje, as the high command has already decided to postpone expansion of the cabinet."
However, Yeddyurappa is apparently not ready to give in. He is understood to have said in private that he would lobby for an immediate expansion, when the core committee meets.
Shobha Karandlaje told MiD DAY, "It is not so important for me, as I am not a ministry aspirant. If it comes on my way I will serve, which I am doing anyway. It doesn't make a difference."
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