Karnataka   

Cabinet likely to be expanded in the next four days

Bangalore: The Yeddyurappa Cabinet is scheduled to be expanded to its optimum strength of 34 in the next three or four days, before the commencement of the Budget session of the legislature.

The first expansion was on June 7 when Katta Subramanya Naidu was inducted into the Ministry. Thirty Ministers, including Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, were sworn in on May 30.

Mr. Yeddyurappa has not revealed the names of the legislators who are likely to be given a berth in the Ministry. “I am yet to apply my mind to it, and given the pressure on me, it is better to avoid mentioning names. I will also have to seek the concurrence of the party high command,” he told The Hindu. The sources in the BJP said that the four legislators who had walked out of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) were among those being considered for ministerial berths.

Six legislators, including a former Deputy Chief Minister, were holding discussions with the BJP leaders. They could also be considered for Cabinet berths, they said. By sending across a message that the Ministry is in the process of being expanded, the BJP has sought to tell legislators that if they cross over to the party now, they will also be considered for induction into the Ministry.

J. Narasimhaswamy, Congress MLA from Doddaballapur and son of R.L. Jalappa, Congress MP, quit the Assembly and joined the BJP on Sunday.

A second-time legislator, Mr. Narasimhaswamy defeated the former Minister C. Chennigappa of the Janata Dal (Secular) by a margin of nearly 3,700 votes in the recent Assembly elections.

While the former Chief Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy termed the shift in allegiance of some of his party legislators as “a blatant act of poaching by the BJP”, the Congress is yet to react since most of its senior leaders are in New Delhi to call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Union Ministers to press development-oriented demands of the State.

The strength of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) put together in the Legislative Assembly has been reduced by four to 104 compared to the BJP’s strength of 116 (including the six independents).

In a way, the BJP’s reliance on the independents for survival of the Government too has diminished.

Mr. Yeddyurappa and D.V. Sadananda Gowda, State BJP president, said: “The legislators are crossing over to the BJP. It is definitely not horse-trading as is being made out to be in certain quarters. The legislators have resigned from the Assembly to join the BJP. We have not promised them any position in the Government, and moreover, they have to contest again and win their seats. They are joining the BJP since they are happy with the programmes of the Government and are keen to ensure development of their respective constituencies.”

Mr. Yeddyurappa said, “I cannot close doors on those who want to join our party. MLAs of other parties have sought entry into the BJP knowing well that they have to forfeit their seats in the Assembly and run the risk of contesting again. It is my responsibility not only to admit them into the BJP but also extend them adequate support to contest once more from their respective constituencies and emerge victorious.”

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