The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Failure to include Shettar in Ministry brews trouble for BJP

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Saturday, May 31, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Failure to include Shettar in Ministry brews trouble for BJP

B.S. Satish Kumar

He is said to have rejected the offer of the post of Speaker

Mayor, Deputy Mayor and party corporators of HDMC have threatened to quit
There are four ministerial vacancies with eight strong contenders

BANGALORE: A party with a difference or a party with differences? Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party celebrated the historic occasion of forming the first-ever full-fledged government in a southern State on Friday, the occasion was marked by intra-party differences.

Failure to include senior leader and former minister Jagadish Shettar in the 30-member ministerial team that took oath on Friday triggered internal trouble for the party and is threatening to snowball into dissidence. Some of the leaders, including the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and party corporators of the Hubli-Dharwad City Municipal Corporation have threatened to quit en mass if Mr. Shettar is not included in the ministry.

According to sources, Mr. Shettar was offered the post of the Speaker. But, he is said to have rejected the offer and made it clear that he would not accept the “ceremonial post”. He is learnt to have expressed his intention to be in the ministry in the interest of the development of Hubli-Dharwad region. Otherwise, he would prefer to continue as a legislator.

Disappointment

Hoping that their leader would be sworn-in as Minister on Friday, thousands of his supporters had come to Bangalore from Hubli to attend the swearing-in ceremony. Failure to include Mr. Shettar in the Ministry has angered them. Some of his supporters expressed their disappointment by damaging six buses in Hubli.

Mr. Shettar’s supporters allege that Mr. Yeddyurappa might not have included their leader in the ministry as he has identified himself with the group of party National General Secretary Ananth Kumar. However, a senior party functionary denied this allegation and said the party wanted a senior leader like Mr. Shettar to be the Speaker as it was an important post.

The episode is bound to have its impact on the party organisation if Mr. Shettar does not accept the Speaker’s post and if the party does not accommodate him in the ministry.

But the episode has left such a bad taste that there is no guarantee that the equations between the crest-fallen Mr. Shettar and Mr. Yeddyurappa might improve even if he is inducted into the Ministry in the next expansion.

Protests

Meanwhile, the party also witnessed protests in Chandapura by the supporters of its three-time MLA from Anekal A. Narayanaswamy, for not including him in the Ministry.

While the party is left with only four ministerial vacancies, there are seven to eight strong contenders for the berths.

Also, 10 to 11 districts, including Mysore, do not have any representation in the ministry.

Besides, providing ministerial berths to three members from the same group — two brothers and mining owners Janardhan Reddy and Karunakara Reddy and their associate B. Sriramulu — has led to criticism among other ministerial aspirants.

Party sources pointed out that the political compulsions which necessitated providing five ministerial berths to Independents upset the party’s calculations and also the balance with respect to regional representation and accommodation to strong contenders.

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