E-Paper
‘Very good selection’: Yediyurappa on induction of 4 Karnataka MPs in PM’s team
However, analysts and observers said that the induction of Karandlaje, the firebrand member of parliament from Udupi-Chikmagalur, raises several possibilities and has a bearing on the power struggle going on in the Karnataka BJP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inducted four Karnataka Parliamentarians including Shobha Karandlaje, A Narayana Swamy, Bhagwanth Khuba and Rajeev Chandrashekar- a Rajya Sabha MP, as ministers of state into his government at the Centre.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a higher priority to Karnataka and inducted four ministers from the state. On behalf of the people of the state, I thank the prime minister. He has done a very good selection. All four are influential, work impactfully and this will also give the state more strength,” BS Yediyurappa, the Karnataka chief minister said on Wednesday.
Senior party leader from the state, DV Sadananda Gowda was dropped as the Union minister for chemicals and fertilizers.
However, analysts and observers said that the induction of Karandlaje, the firebrand member of parliament from Udupi-Chikmagalur, raises several possibilities and has a bearing on the power struggle going on in the Karnataka BJP.
“The induction of Shobha Karandlaje you can read in one of two ways. One is it can be seen as Yediyurappa is secure or as a kind of prelude to attacking Yediyurappa,” said one Bengaluru-based political analyst, requesting not to be named.
Karandlaje, a Yediyurappa loyalist, had left the saffron outfit in 2012 following Yeddiyurappa’s exit from the party due to differences with the party high command following his removal as Karnataka chief minister after he was indicted in the Lokayukta report for illegal mining in the state.
BY Raghavendra, the member of parliament from Shivamogga and Yediyurappa’s son, was among the probables but did not make it to the union cabinet.
The analyst cited above said that Raghavendra’s induction would have been a clear sign that Yediyurappa was to be replaced in line with the unwritten rule in the saffron party that only allows one person per family to hold an administrative post.
“The current selection is not going to give any political dividends to the BJP in Karnataka,” A Narayana, political analyst and faculty at the Azim Premji University said.
Induction of Karandlaje, a Vokkaliga; Khuba, a Lingayat; and Narayana Swamy, a scheduled caste is being seen as giving representation to all the major communities in Karnataka. Chandrashekar, a Brahmin, is likely to have been drafted in as a technocrat, analysts indicate.
Karandlaje has long held a reputation of making provocative and communally charged statements, courting controversies, as seen in the run up to the 2018 assembly elections.
Analysts said that the BJP ignored Yediyurappa’s choices and selected its own candidates like done in the past for Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and even the legislative council, suggesting his powers had waned over the years.
Barring Chandrashekar, the other three candidates are proficient only in Kannada, which puts them at a disadvantage in corridors of power in Delhi, analysts said. They added that the reshuffle continued the consolidation of powers with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The BJP is yet to come to an agreement with Yediyurappa, who hopes to not just continue in the top chair for the remainder of the two-year term but also place his sons within the party and government, people aware of the developments said.
The 78-year-old Yediyurappa is facing attack from all quarters, including from within his own government and party over alleged corruption, non-performance, Covid mismanagement and charges that his other son, BY Vijayendra is running a parallel administration under the aegis of his father.
His past cases have also returned to haunt him, making the negotiations harder between the party and the chief minister over a possible replacement, analysts said.
