BANGALORE: Senior leaders of the State unit of the BJP will meet here on January 21 to finalise the party's nominees for the two ministerial berths. The meeting has assumed significance in the light of differences among the top leaders of the State unit on the choice of two legislators to be given a berth in the H.D. Kumaraswamy Ministry.

Though the party has short-listed a few names to fill its quota of two seats in the Ministry, a final decision is likely to be taken at the meeting on January 21.

The party leaders are split over giving a ministerial berth to Shobha Karandalje, MLC. As such, three members of the Upper House — D.H. Shankaramurthy, V.S. Acharya and Ramachandra Gowda, obviously due to their seniority, are already in the Ministry.

The three-time MLA for Hulsoor (Reserved) constituency in Bidar district, Rajendra Verma who expressed his resentment when he did not find a berth in the Ministry during the last expansion, is said to be a front-runner. Meanwhile, the BJP leadership has denied reports that Revenue Minister Jagadish Shettar and Water Resources Minister K.S. Eshwarappa had threatened to resign if Ms. Karandalje was made a Minister.

An informal meeting was held to discuss the birth centenary celebrations of the second sarasangachalak of RSS M.S. Golwalkar.

"There is still time to decide on who should be made Ministers," Mr. Yediyurappa said.

According to sources, a meeting of BJP Ministers, who have come from RSS cadre, was held at Mr. Yediyurappa's residence to discuss certain measures to bring in some discipline in the party organisation.

Ms. Karandalje said she was not an aspirant for the Minister's post.

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