Ten defectors who helped BJP gain power rewarded with Cabinet

Ten defectors who helped BJP gain power rewarded with Cabinet berth (Eds: Adds details) Bengaluru, Feb 6 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday rewarded with Cabinet berth 10 defectors, who helped the BJP bring down the Congress-JD(S) coalition and come to power. The cabinet expansion led to dissatisfaction among a section of "native" BJP leaders who were left out of the exercise as the party sought to contain dissidence in the face of intense lobbying for berths by several contenders.

The then disqualified Congress-JD(S) MLAs who had shifted loyalty to the BJP and won the December by-elections, weresworn-in at a simple ceremony at the Raj Bhavan with the GovernorVajubhai Vala administering oath of office and secrecy. The ten are: S T Somashekar (Yeshwantpur constituency),Ramesh Jarkiholi (Gokak), Anand Singh (Vijayanagar), KSudhakar (Chikkaballapur), Byrathi Basavaraj (K R Puram), AShivaram Hebbar (Yellapur), B C Patil (Hirekerur), K Gopalaiah(Mahalakshmi Layout), K C Narayana Gowda (K R Pet) andShrimant Balasaheb Patil (Kagwad).

Thursday's much-awaited expansion takes the strength ofthe Cabinet to 28, with six vacancies now. In the firstexpansion last August, 17 Ministers were inducted.

The latest exercise wasn't a smooth affair for the Chief Minister and it was not without a twist. Yediyurappa had announced on Sunday that 13 aspirants,including the 10 who were sworn-in on Thursday and three BJPold-timers would be inducted.

The three who were expected to get Cabinet berths wereUmesh Katti, Arvind Limbavali and C P Yogeshwar. A section of the BJP had opposed making Yogeshwar aminister, pointing out that he had lost the assembly elections andnot a member of either House.

Late on Wednesday, Yediyurappa said induction of BJP old-timers had been put off following directions from the party's central leadership. The decision to take none of the "native" BJP leadersinto the Cabinet in the current round came after intenselobbying from several aspirants which threatened to go out ofhand at one stage, party sources said.

The ten newly-inducted Ministers were among the then 16Congress-JD(S) MLAs who brought down the coalition governmentheaded by H D Kumaraswamy. Among these disqualified MLAs, 13 had contested theby-polls in December and 11 had won.

The one who had been left out in the Cabinet expansionis Athani MLA Mahesh Kumathalli who has been promised by theChief Minister "some other big responsibility." Apparently displaying their resentment, Katti and Kumathalli skipped the swearing-in ceremony. While Katti's name was doing rounds ever since theChief Minister announced on Sunday that three old-timer BJPleaders would be inducted in his cabinet.

Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sriramulu, who had made no secret of his ambition to become a Deputy Chief Minister, was also conspicuous by his absence, along with Yogeshwar. Kumathalli was aggrieved that he didn't secure the berth.

"It is difficult to make him (Mahesh Kumathalli) minister now. I will call him and discuss with him. We will try to give him some other big responsibility," Yediyurappa had said on Wednesday night. Sriramulu later clarified that there was no discordin the party and Yediyurappa was his leader.

He also said he was busy distributing invitations for his daughter's wedding and had sought the approval of the party leaders to skip the swearing-in ceremony. "There is no discord in the party. As some people arebuilding the narrative of native and outsider, I don't believein such differentiation," Sriramulu told reporters.

There was a section within the BJP, especially M PRenukacharya, which opposed induction of Yogeshwar. As the Thursday's exercise was meant to honour the promise made to those who helped BJP come to power and make Yediyurappa chief minister, the caste consideration did not matter much.

Reacting to Cabinet expansion, former chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah said he is not happy that those who defected from Congress and the JD(S) became ministers because it was "anti-democracy" and they had betrayed their parties. "They had won the election and now became ministers, so I will congratulate them. I want them to do pro-people works,"Siddaramaiah, however, added.

When asked that his 'good-old friends' have become ministers, former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said, "I am happy. They had put in lotsof efforts to fulfill their aspirations. Let them do some good work for the people." PTI GMS RS SS SS.