Karnataka cabinet expansion put off after rift surfaces in BJP

The much-awaited expansion of the JD (S)-BJP coalition Ministry in Karnataka has been put off yet again in the wake of a serious rift among the senior leaders of the state BJP over inclusion of a lady MLC into the Cabinet.

Though the cabinet expansion of the coalition Government had been tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader B S Yediyurappa’s insistence on the inclusion of Shobha Karandlaje, a first-time MLC, into the coalition ministry has sparked off a row in the BJP with several senior leaders locking horns with Yediyurappa over the issue.

With the differences in the party over the inclusion of Shobha Karandlaje continuing to torment the BJP leaders till the eleventh hour on Tuesday, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had little choice, but to postpone the expansion of the coalition Ministry.

According to sources in the BJP, Yediyurappa had to face the wrath of several senior leaders in the party including his bete noire and former Federal Minister Ananthakumar over his decision to include Karandlaje. Senior BJP leaders including Revenue Minister Jagadish Shettar, Water Resources Minister K S Eshwarappa and Health Minister R Ashok reportedly threatened to quit the Cabinet if Yediyurappa accommodates Karandlaje in the Ministry.

Yediyurappa’s opponents had argued that there were other women legislators in the party, who were senior to Karandlaje and the party could ill-afford to accommodate a relatively junior MLC when almost 70 MLAs of the party were staking a claim for a ministerial berth.

But, Yediyurappa, who has a running feud with Ananthkumar in the state unit of BJP, refused to drop Karandlaje from the list.

The postponement of the cabinet expansion has served to temporarily quell the dissension in the BJP, which had faced a near revolt by several MLAs, who could not find a Ministerial berth during the first round of expansion.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said the expansion of the Cabinet has been postponed because it was an “inauspicious period” for the exercise. He said the party legislators were themselves not favour of the exercise at this juncture. However, he said a fresh date for the cabinet expansion will be fixed in the next two days time.