CM will seek flood and drought relief; national leaders will have say on ministers, slots for rebels
BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who left for New Delhi on Monday on a three-day visit, is expected to discuss and finalise many issues, including his cabinet, the new BJP state president, the coalition rebels who resigned and also funds for Karnataka, which is facing both drought and floods at the same time. He is reportedly carrying a list of 20 members to be inducted into his cabinet. The three-day visit is expected to include many brainstorming sessions with national BJP leaders.
According to BJP sources, Yediyurappa’s list includes B Sriramulu, Govind Karjol. Basavaraj Bommai, R Ashoka, V Somanna and others. “He has prepared a list of names, most of them associated with his camp. But there are a few names from BL Santosh’s camp. It is up to them (national leaders) to accept the list or modify it. They cannot reject the entire list, but might modify it,’’ sources said.
CT Ravi and Aravind Limbavali, who are contenders for the state BJP president’s post, also figure in the list. If one of them becomes president, the other will be inducted into the cabinet. Karjol, Ashoka and Limbavali’s names are doing the rounds for the post of home minister, but again, it all depends on national leaders.
On Tuesday, Yediyurappa discussed pending works related to Karnataka with all state MPs who are attending the Parliament session at Delhi. He will meet Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Wednesday, he will also hold a series of meetings with several Union ministers. According to sources, he is expected to seek more funds for the state, which is in a peculiar situation — drought in the southern districts and floods in the north.
More than Rs 2,000 crore is yet to be released under the MNREGA scheme.The biggest issue for Yediyurappa is said to be the disqualified rebel MLAs of the coalition, who have now approached SC. “While discussing the cabinet, they will probably leave some slots for the rebels and later, depending on what the Supreme Court rules, they will be inducted or not,” sources added.
list of probables
R Ashoka, Umesh Katti, Balachandra Jarkiholi, Govind Karjol, Basavaraj Bommai, BC Patil, Renukacharya, B Sriramulu, Madhuswamy, Angaara, Basavaraj Yatnal, Dattatreya Patil Revoor, Prabhu Chavan, Rajegowda, Kota Srinivasa Poojary, SR Vishwanath Reddy, CT Ravi, Aravind Limbavali, V Somanna, Pradeep Shettar/Jagadish Shettar
