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In Karnataka, BJP gears up for the hard part after bypoll win
It is now clear that the 17 legislators who resigned from the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) were promised some kind of deal for their so-called sacrifice, which included cabinet berths.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s impressive sweep of 12 of the 15 seats, which went to bypolls, means that chief minister B S Yediyurappa has a new and, in a sense, tougher problem to solve.
It is now clear that the 17 legislators who resigned from the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) were promised some kind of deal for their so-called sacrifice, which included cabinet berths. With 11 of the 13 “turncoats” having won, Yediyurappa who, during the bypoll campaign, went around their constituencies on the plank that if elected, they would be made ministers, needs to make good on his promise.
Immediately after the results, in his victory speech itself, Yediyurappa promised that he would visit Delhi in the “next few days” for consultations with the high command, and he would keep the promise of inducting the winners into the ministry.
Given the constitutionally-mandated cap of the cabinet not exceeding 15% of the strength of the assembly, Karnataka can have, at most, 33 ministers apart from the chief minister. There are already 18 ministers in the cabinet, including the CM himself.
So, while, on paper, accommodating the 12 winners in the bypolls appears easy, it won’t be a straightforward exercise. Several of the veteran loyal BJP legislators, who were not accommodated in the first round of expansion, after the party assumed office this July are eyeing cabinet berths too.
Some of them, such as the seven-time Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), Umesh Katti from Hukkeri, had even threatened to walk out of the party in case they were not included when the cabinet is expanded. A carrot-and-stick approach had then put a temporary lid on his demands. It isn’t clear what steps he is likely to take in case he is overlooked again.
Many have been using the caste card. Five term MLA and senior Dalit leader, S Angara, also had publicly complained at being overlooked when the cabinet had been sworn in in August. Arvind Limbavalli, another senior MLA, is looking at induction from the SC quota too.
Others have been more subtle in their demands. MP Kumarswamy, the BJP MLA from Mudigere, has already said “As I am the manas putra (mind-born son) of Yediyurappa, I am sure he will consider me for a cabinet berth.”
Even among the “turncoat” winners, some, such as Ramesh Jarkiholi, are eyeing nothing less than a deputy CM post, having been a key lynchpin in toppling the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. Karnataka already has three deputy CMs and it is not known whether it will go the Andhra way where Jagan Reddy has five deputy CMs.
While another defector, MTB Nagaraju, may have lost in Hoskote to a BJP rebel-turned independent candidate Sharath Bachegowda, he is now looking to enter the upper house and make it to the cabinet. As one of the richest politicians in the state — he had declared Rs 1230 crore assets in his election affadiavit — it will be hard to ignore Nagaraju.
Others, like Narayan Gowda, who helped the BJP win for the first time in Mandya district, the Vokkaliga heartland and the native place of the CM, is considered a certainty for a ministerial berth.
New winners from Bangalore, such as Byrathi Basvaraja, who won KR Pura with the highest margin of all, or K Gopaliah, who coasted to victory in Mahalakshmi Layout, are also considered strong contenders for cabinet berths.
The chief minister, though, will have to do a delicate balancing act. He will have to take into consideration representation for all communities and all regions of the state. Portfolio allocation won’t be an easy task either. For instance, R Ashoka, a former deputy CM, who now handles revenue in the present cabinet, had sulked for days before reluctantly accepting his portfolio, as did Jagadish Shettar, a former CM, who is now the large and medium scale industries minister. Only displeasure from the high command had made them toe the party line.
To keep dissidence at bay and dangle the carrot of possible future induction, the chief minister is expected to keep at least three or four berths in the ministry empty. However, the delicate balancing act of trying to please all sections, may mean that Yediyurappa finds that winning the bypolls was the easy part. The hard task of fulfilling expectations and delivering on governance promises begins now.
